I’m feeling a little sad that Whip It Up is over, so I’m going to sort of continue it (maybe only for this week…) because I know you all love to hear what’s being served for dinner at the White house!

Tonight I made Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers. If you would have put this in front of me 5 years ago, I probably would have picked through it to make it look like I ate it, mostly because I didn’t think I liked peppers and I wasn’t even sure what eggplant tasted like. But I’ve sort of turned a little adventurous when it comes to cooking/eating now that I’m married. I can finally commiserate with moms who look in the fridge and think, “I can’t think of ANYTHING to make tonight.” So I am constantly looking for recipes and I’m willing to go out on a limb just to do something different.

This was a recipe I found in Real Simple (it seems like all my recipes are coming from there lately…)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Kosher salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant, bell peppers, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the broth and tortellini. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the tortellini are cooked through and most of the broth is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.

Fold in the parsley and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.

The only thing I changed about this recipe was to add chicken (for my carnivorous husband). And I will DEFINITELY make this again because Philip and I could not stop saying “This is SO good!” through tortellini stuffed mouths.