The stars must have been aligned–this dish was a huge hit at our house tonight.

I riffed on this recipe featured on the Rachael Ray show today. All of the ingredients came from Trader Joe’s. Here’s how I did it:

1. Prepare one pound of dried tortellini pasta according to the package directions.

2. While the pasta is cooking, steam one package of frozen asparagus and then puree.

3. Make Rachael’s béchamel sauce (omit garlic by accident and instead use one part vegetable broth and one part fat-free milk). Add pureed asparagus.

4. Toss the now very very green sauce with the pasta to coat.

5. Brown a package of tomato/basil chicken sausages (squeezed from their casings and crumbled) and add to the pasta and sauce, stirring gently.

6. Pour into a baking dish and cover with TJ’s Quattro Formaggio (about 1/2 a package). Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

I6 ate all of what he was served. E3 had two servings. Karl snarfed up a huge bowl. Angels sang.

Now it’s back to NaNoWriMo for me.