Tortellini Soup

This time of year, I crave soup.  It’s cold outside and I can’t wait to get my hands around a hot steaming cup of soup.  I am crazy about soups.  It’s also one of my favorite family traditions.

I grew up in a family business.  It was a St. Louis retail store called The Irish Crystal Company.  And like most retailers, we were slam busy with corporate holiday business starting in August and then we’d only get crazier the closer it got to Christmas.  Needless to say, we were too exhausted to make a big Christmas dinner and we were still too comatose to do much as New Year’s Eve rolled around.  But what we did do, was create a family tradition of having holiday soup.

It’s the perfect thing because you can make it ahead of time and freeze it.  You can put it altogether in the crock pot and not only is it waiting for you when you get home from work, it has made your house smell amazing!  And the leftovers always taste better.

Tortellini soup is my son’s favorite.  The girls’ favorite is the Chicken Tortilla Soup, mine would have to be Frazer’s Tomato Cheddar Soup, and you know, I don’t know what Jerry’s favorite is.  I’ll have to ask him tonight.

There are two really great things about Tortellini Soup.  The first is, it is an incredibly easy and fast soup to make.  The other thing is, it’s just as delicious without the tortellini!  Dropping the pasta from this soup makes it gluten-free and keto friendly.  Yay!

Next week’s post: Pork Roast with Cherry Marinade

Tortellini Soup

Another fast and easy soup that tastes great within minutes! | www.lakesidetable.com

• Author: Madalaine
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: Italian American

Ingredients

• 12 cups chicken stock
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz  turkey Italian sausage
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
• 1 package fresh tortellini (16 oz)
• grated parmesan cheese, garnish (optional)
• lemon wedges (optional)

Equipment

• soup pot
• large spoon

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in the soup pot on medium.  Add diced onions and cook until they’re soft and translucent.
2. Brown turkey Italian sausage with the onions.
3. Stir in the spinach, garlic, tomatoes, and salt.  Cook together for 5 minutes.
4. Pour chicken stock into soup pot and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Bring soup to a boil and add fresh tortellini.   Let boil for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and serve.
6. Garnish is a squeeze of lemon and grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

One of my family’s favorite soups.  It comes together so fast!  This is a recipe I first learned from my friend Deb.  Thanks girl! Love you! 🙂