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This post is sponsored by Fred Meyer, however as always, all opinions are my own.
Is meatless Monday a thing in your home? I’ll be honest, that’s not always been the case in my own.
Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t think about it. But brands like Fred Meyer are making me realize I need to make more of a conscious effort to incorporate meatless Mondays into our family lifestyle.
Fred Meyer recently reached out to me with regard to a new launch they were getting out on to the market. Immediately, I was intrigued because it revolved around something I had never worked with before; meatless protein. Or more specifically, a meatless grind similar to ground beef.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know how much I love making up new family friendly meals, so of course the challenge of crafting a meatless alternative meal was exciting!
While doing a little research with regard to meatless alternatives, I came across some interesting information that really caught my attention.
Like, why meatless Monday?
Well first and foremost, ditching the meat one day each week can lead to better overall health for both yourself and our planet, according to MeatlessMonday.com.
Meatless Monday goes on to explaining that eating less red meat and substituting it with plant based proteins can provide many health benefits, such as lowered risk of heart problems, maintain a healthy weight, and promote kidney health.
Check out MeatlessMonday.com for more information about the benefits of going meatless.
And then we get into, well, why is Fred Meyer taking a stand and incorporating meatless alternatives into their stores?
From their private research, they’ve found many Americans are switching over to more “flexitarian” lifestyles, meaning they’re incorporating more plant based proteins into their diets and forgetting the standard meat proteins.
With that, they have started to expand their plant based offerings within their Simple Truth brand. If you remember, a few months back I shared how I incorporate their plant based sausages into our home.
But this month, they’ve launched their Emerge line of pea based meatless grinds and patties and I am so excited to share them with you guys!
Before we dive into the super yummy recipe I have to share with you guys, that I know you’re dying for, let’s talk a bit about the new Emerge line.
The Simple Truth Emerge line just launched at the beginning of 2020 and is a pea based meatless protein similar to ground beef. The goal of the developers was to create a product that could easily replace ground beef in recipes without any extra work, and I’d have to say they did just that!
A little side note before you buy some and cook it up yourself though, it doesn’t totally brown like ground beef does. It starts as a deep red color and lightens. This means you’ll really want to time it’s cooking. The optimal cook time is 6-8 minutes. Any more, and you won’t find the right texture.
But aside from that, it is pretty comprable to ground beef. It cooks the same, and can be added to the same recipes.
Which is what we’re up to today.
Today I am sharing a fun meatless Monday recipe perfect for the whole family.
The best part?! It’s a 30ish minute meal.Perfect for those busy weeknights.
Okay okay. I know you’re tired of reading.
Let’s get into the simple meatless Monday recipe!
Meatless Monday Tortellini Bake with Simple Truth Emerge
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 16 oz Simple Truth Emerge
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced
- 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 1 package (24 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 3½ cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a large casserole dish with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté Simple Truth Emerge, onion, and garlic in butter for 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2-3 minutes.
Stir in tortellini and half of mozzarella cheese. Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Cover dish with foil and bake 20 minutes. Serve hot.
What do you think? You’re adding the ingredients to your grocery list right? You should be because this tortellini bake turned out phenomenal!
For more recipes with Fred Meyer, click here!
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