As we were driving home from Atlanta, I read my sister’s blog and saw her recipe for a chili with tortellini that seemed perfect to make for dinner.  After confirming with her that it really was good, and easy to make, I tweaked the recipe in my head and made a grocery store run.

Tortellini Chili

Ingredients:

• 20 oz Tortellini (the bigger pack)
• 2 T Olive oil
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 T Minced garlic
• 1 lb. Ground beef
• 1/2 t Salt
• 1/4 t Black pepper
• 1/4 t Garlic salt
• 24 oz. Chicken broth
• 15 oz Pinto beans
• 15 oz Black beans
• 15 oz. Diced tomatoes
• 16 oz Tomato sauce
• 2 T Ground cumin
• 2 T Chili powder
• 1 tsp Basil
• Red pepper flakes, to taste

Cook the tortellini according to package directions and set to the side. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the broth, tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, basil and red pepper flakes and stir well. Add the tortellini and cook over medium heat for ~ 10 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour.  Serve with sour cream and cheese, and clean your bowl with some bread!

Edits: I changed some of the amounts from the original recipe, plus added a few others like the sauce and red pepper flakes to give it a kick and make it more tomato-y.  Hunter still added hot sauce to it, but it was hot enough for me.  Like Lauren, I wanted mine to be a little thicker, so only used ~24oz of chicken broth.  Next time I’ll rinse and drain the black beans (I was lazy and didn’t), since the chili looked a little darker from the black beans.