Welcome to 2020, where we just can’t have nice things and _ichigan still sucks – now more than ever.

I don’t really have the words to fill this page with any meaning.  I mean, even when the Big Ten got it right, they still screwed it up so badly in the first place it's like the plane still crashed and we're just thankful we survived.  So, I’ll just post a delicious recipe Mrs. 3M pulled out of her magic book of recipes after Thanksgiving.  Seriously, this stuff is delicious!

Don’t worry, if you don’t like ham, this recipe works well with chicken.  Seems to be a lot of that laying around this week.

Ham & Cheese Tortellini

Ingredients

• 1 small yellow onion (diced)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 cups diced ham
• 1 20-oz package of fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups fresh shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Fresh chopped parsley

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Dice up an onion and add it to the skillet and let them soften for several minutes.
2. Dice up some leftover ham into cubes (or buy it already cut up) and a couple cloves of garlic and add them to the skillet. Let the ham get nice and golden brown. Since it’s already fully cooked, you don’t have to worry about the ham cooking, just brown it til it looks pretty.
3. Add chicken broth, tortellini and heavy cream to the pan and stir until it’s all combined. Bring it to a boil and let it cook uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed and the tortellini are nice tender.
4. To the tortellini, stir in some Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Then top with more mozzarella and slide the skillet into the oven under the broiler. Watch it closely to avoid scorching, but let the cheese bubble and brown.
5. Garnish with some fresh minced parsley before serving.

Pro Tips

• When the One Pan Ham & Cheese Tortellini is finished cooking, you’re going to top it with a ton of cheese. Half of that cheese is stirred right in with the ham and pasta to create the sauce. The rest of the cheese is left right on top of the pasta to melt and create that lovely golden crust under the broiler. Now if you’re averse to turning on the broiler for a few minutes you can just cover the pan with its lid or some foil and let the cheese just melt on its own. It will take about 5-10 minutes. I recommend the broiler method because the cheese gets ooey gooey and those golden brown mozzarella bits. So good!
• Watch the tortellini closely as it cooks because it does cook quickly. If there is any liquid left in the pan, you can spoon some out before adding the cheese. A little liquid is ok because that’s the base of the sauce.

Previous editions of Tailgate Fare found here.

I'd like to give a shout out to Chief and Rox for keeping this thing afloat in 2020.  Thank you fellas, we all appreciate you putting in the time to share your delicious recipes!