Tortellini--Stuffing the noodles

Ok. So you've made your noodle dough, now you need to make the stuffing. Again, I don't use precise measurements. I just plop some spinach (the frozen kind, thawed and drained) in a bowl. For just two people I used about 1/4 cup of spinach. Then you can add about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and a cup of ricotta cheese. (It's ok to use the fat free ricotta if you want. It turns out just the same.) Mix it up and that's your filling! (This amount made a LOT. I made too much because I had friends over for dinner and didn't know how much to do. I'm planning to just use it up and freeze whatever we don't feel like eating right now.)



Next, cut out circles of dough. The top of a glass works pretty well.



You can kind of stretch out your circle a little more if it's thick enough. Then plop a small amount of filling the middle. This is probably about a teaspoon. In a small bowl mix up an egg with a little bit of water. I actually just used a small amount of the egg that I was using to make the noodle dough. You don't need to waste a whole egg on this part.

After you've mixed up the egg and water you can use your finger tip or a small paintbrush to wet the circle of dough around the edges. (This works like glue.)



Then pick it up and fold it over in half. Be careful not to squish the guts part. If they squish out to the edge it will be hard to make your noodle seal shut.



Pinch all the edges together so it seals well. It's a little easier if the egg on the edges isn't too wet. I let it sit for just a minute and it gets a little tacky. Also, if it's not dripping wet then your fingers don't get so gummed up while you're pinching them all closed.



I like to make them all at the same time. I think it goes fast to cut them all out, and then put the filling on all of them, and paint egg on all of them....etc.



When you've got them all made then you can put them in a pot of boiling water. It's good for the water to be boiling already before you put the noodles in, so they just cook quickly instead of disintegrating in the water while it heats up.



The noodles cook pretty fast--about 5 minutes I think. You will know they are done because they will float to the top. It's obvious also when you scoop them out of the water because the noodle is solid instead of floppy.



I still can't decide if I like this better with the red sauce or the alfredo. Both are delicious!



I'm sure there are many variations that would be good. One time I added garlic powder to the spinach/cheese mixture and that was pretty good. I think it would be good to add shredded chicken, or you could probably do ground turkey with italian seasonings and red sauce on top. Let me know if you find something that works well and I'll try it too!