Thimbles, Bobbins, Paper and Ink: Chicken Tortellini Soup

In our old age the Mister and I have settled into routines. One of those routines is soup on Saturday nights. This is especially true in winter months. Nothing tastes better or is more filling than a nice hot bowl of soup. I keep it varied each week and make old favorites and try some new soup recipes too. I decided to write down all of the various soups I make each week here on my blog with, beginning today, a Saturday feature I'll title "SOUP'S ON Saturday".

SOUP'S ON Saturday #1 is Chicken, Spinach and Tortellini Soup.

There are a million and one recipes for Chicken, Spinach and Tortellini Soup and nearly as many names it is known by. My recipe is certainly not unique. But this is how I make it. It is very fast to throw together, has a wonderful rich broth, the cheese tortellini adds just the right amount of stick-to-your-ribs hardiness and, well...we just love it!

Chicken, Spinach and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
olive oil (a glug or two...translation: a couple tablespoons)
half an onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 quart of chicken broth (more if you like more broth in your soup)
2 extra large chicken breasts or 4 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 (9 ounce) package of fresh tortellini
4 large mushrooms, sliced
Fresh Spinach (I throw about 2 or 3 VERY LARGE HANDFULS of fresh spinach into the pot)
salt and pepper to your preferences
1/4 freshly grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top when serving

Directions:

Glug a couple of glugs of olive oil into the soup pot (probably about two tablespoons worth). Add the diced onions and saute slowly until the onions are clear.
When the onions are clear now it is time to add the garlic and saute for about one minute.
Pour the chicken broth into the soup pot with the garlic and onions. Add the chicken and bring to a simmer. Simmer the chicken for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
Now add the sliced mushrooms, tortellini and fresh spinach to the pot and simmer until the tortellini is al dente and the spinach is fully wilted. Add more chicken broth if necessary. Add salt and pepper to suite your taste.
To serve, grate Parmesan over each bowl of soup and enjoy.

NOTE: if you have left over rotisserie chicken or turkey that you want to use up, just shred up about 2 or 3 cups of the left over cooked meat and use it instead of fresh chicken. You won't have to simmer the soup as long if using already cooked meat.

So there is SOUP'S ON SATURDAY #1. Check back next Saturday to see what's in the soup pot.

It's cold and snowy here on our little homestead. The soup is going to taste mighty fine tonight!