Ingredients
- 1/2 bag of frozen Italian Meatballs (1 pound)
- 1 bag (1 pound) frozen cheese tortellini
- Beef Broth (32 oz.)
- 1 can (15.5 oz) Cannellini Beans
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) Italian Diced Tomatoes (has basil, garlic & oregano in it)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 1/2 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
Preparation
Step 1
Pour beef broth in slow cooker and add beans (do not drain), diced tomatoes (do not drain), onion, garlic, celery, Italian seasoning and frozen meatballs.
Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
About 30-45 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add frozen tortellini (or pasta). Allow to cook thoroughly. Add salt & pepper to taste (I usually add about a tsp. of table salt and ½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper).
Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Serve with Garlic Breadsticks below:
1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
Garlic Butter topping:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon table salt
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered. Mixture should be frothy.
While waiting, start preheating your oven to 200F degrees.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or medium-sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and melted butter to flour mixture.
Mix with dough hook attachment on stand mixer or stir with a wooden spoon
until fully combined.
Knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth and elastic.
Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Pull off pieces of dough and roll out into strips.
The first few times I made this, I pulled off way too much dough for each breadstick. So pull off smaller size pieces than you would think you'd need.
Remember these are going to double in size!
Cover the dough with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray (so dough doesn't stick to it from the inside) and put in preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour. At this point, turn off the oven. It is warm enough now for the dough to continue to rise.
Once they have doubled in size, remove sheet from oven and
preheat oven up to 400F degrees.
Once it has reached temperature, take plastic wrap off of breadsticks and put in the oven.
While they are baking, make butter topping.
Microwave butter until melted and add garlic powder and salt, stir until combined.
After 6 or 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture. Then continue to bake for another 6-7 minutes. Immediately upon removal from the oven, brush the other half of the butter on the sticks.
Allow them to cool for a minute or two, and enjoy!
If you want a short cut for Garlic Breadsticks:
1 tube (11 oz.) Pillsbury Breadsticks Dough
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon table salt
Preheat oven to 375F degrees
Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray(I don't twist the dough like the directions on the package suggests. I keep them flat.)
Lay breadsticks out on cookie sheet (about an inch apart)
Bake breadsticks according to package directions (about 10-13 minutes).
While baking, make the garlic butter topping. Melt butter in small bowl and whisk in garlic powder and salt. Stir until combined.
When breadsticks are done, using a basting brush, coat breadsticks liberally with garlic butter. Serve warm!
I love to make this quick version to serve with marinara sauce. Or to serve with pizza and spaghetti. If you like, you can even sprinkle a bit of dried oregano on these!