Cheesy Pizza Tortellini

This recipe was a hit with my family. The only thing I would do different from the original recipe is next time we would add some extra cheese to the pasta/sauce/noodle portion of the dish, instead of putting all the cheese on the top. So this will be our version of this. The guy who originally posted this on TikTok was doing a "griddle" version of this, but he also does a skillet version. See the original skillet recipe here: https://cookinginthemidwest.com/blog/pizzatortellini/#recipe

Cheesy Pizza Tortellini

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage (we like a 1/2 and 1/2 blend)
• 1 24 oz jar of marinara sauce
• 19 oz frozen tortellini
•  mini pepperoni slices
• regular pepperoni slices
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese
• See recipe instructions for additional optional ingredients you may want to add.

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add your frozen tortellini. Cook as per package directions, drain and set aside.
2. Brown your mini pepperonis in a large pan/skillet. Once crispy, remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.
3. In the same pan, brown ground beef/Italian sausage in a skillet over medium high heat and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning if desired. Drain any excess grease. If you wanted to, you could also throw in some chopped onion (and/or peppers) to cook and soften along with your ground meat.
4. If desired, near the end of browning your ground meat, you can throw some extra minced garlic into the pan, like one big spoonful.
5. Add your browned mini pepperonis back to the pan, along with your jar of marinara sauce. This would also be a great time to add 1/2-1 block of cream cheese. Stir and heat through until combined and bubbly.
6. Add your cooked tortellini and stir to combine, along with a handful of whatever cheese you would like to be in the middle of your dish (like a handful of mozzarella and a sprinkling of grated parmesan.
7. Pour everything into a large casserole dish sprayed with nonstick spray.
8. Cover the entire dish with a nice layer of mozzarella cheese, and then top with your regular sized pepperonis.
9. Bake in the oven until bubbly and cheese is melted, then broil in the oven until the top layer of cheese and pepperoni is golden and crispy.