Tortellini with Edamame and Smoked Sausage

My kids love edamame straight from the shell, and they especially like them for dinner paired with two of their other favorites: smoked sausage and tortellini.

Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame*
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing

1. Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot.
2. Meanwhile, chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds.
3. Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through -- about 5 minutes.
4. Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.
6. Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.

*Ingredient Tips
Edamame (ed-ah-MAH-may) are boiled green soybeans commonly served as a mild, crunchy appetizer in Japanese restaurants. They have become more common in Western culture in recent years. Most often sold in the U.S. frozen in shelled or unshelled form, they are packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, calcium, protein and fiber. For this recipe, frozen shelled is best. If you must buy them in the pod, take the prep time of shelling them into account, it can get very tedious.