I’m super excited to be sharing a couple guest posts this week from people that I know in real life! Recently several friends started blogging which is awesome and I’m so excited to share posts from these friends, starting with Dana who is an excellent cook and a wonderful person!
Hey guys! My name’s Dana and I’m from Our Life’s Legacy, where you’ll read about my adventures in crafting, cooking, and everyday life with my sweet husband and two “kids” (Conan the dog and Jonesy the cat).
I’m so excited to be here while Mary’s off getting hitched and enjoying every minute of it! I met Mary in college, and she’s such a fun-loving, sassy and smart girl. I love being able to keep up with what’s going on in her life via blog, aren’t you??
I LOVE to cook, and I love trying new recipes that are healthy AND delicious. And healthy, delicious meals DO exisit, people! My husband and I both work full-time and stay busy in the evenings as well, so I try to do a lot of prep work and meal planning on the weekends to help us out during the week. One great option for a healthy meal that helps you avoid the fast food line or sodium-packed frozen meals during the work week is soup! It’s so easy to make up a big pot of soup that you can eat throughout the week, and with cold weather around the corner it’s the perfect comfort meal at the office. Here’s one of our favorites! It’s full of veggies, the chicken makes it hearty, and the tortellini makes it…well, amazing!!
Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Tortellini
*Make about 8-10 servings*
Adapted from (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-soup-ii/detail.aspx )
- 5 chicken thighs
- 2 quarts water
- 4 cubes chicken bouillon, crumbled
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach
- 1 package cheese tortellini
- salt and pepper to taste
1. Place chicken things in large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the meat is falling off the bone. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Remove meat from bones and return to pot.
2. Stir in chicken bouillon, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and bell pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender. This should take about 10-15 minutes.
3. Stir in frozen spinach and cook 10-15 minutes. I have also used several handfuls of fresh spinach and just cooked until wilted. I actually think I prefer the fresh spinach, but use what you have!
4. Stir in tortellini and cook according to package directions. I’ve used both the dry pasta and the fresh pasta that you can buy in the deli section of the grocery store. I have found that the dry tortellini holds up better in this recipe, especially if you plan on freezing to reheat later.
5. Enjoy! This makes A LOT of soup so we usually a couple bowls the night I make it, refrigerate a couple portions to eat for lunch the next day, and then freeze the rest in individual portions for quick lunches on busy days. Here’s what I got the last time I made it (after we had already eaten some for dinner…)
This looks SO good! I never thought of added tortellini like that but what a great idea! I would probably use low sodium chicken broth but other than that, this looks perfect for the upcoming cold weather! Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes when I use chicken from my freezer (that I previously cooked and shredded) I will use my own homemade chicken stock… I always have tons of the stock in my freezer! I don’t always use the bouillon. It works out fine!
I love soup! That really sounds delicious, I think I’m gonna try it. I used to cook A LOT and freeze it as well, but then my boyfriend moved in with me. I have not the slightest idea how he does it (he weighs about 200 lbs and is 7 ft tall), but when you don’t pay attention, all the food is gone. Into his mouth. So nothing goes into the freezer anymore.
Cookie, I totally relate. My husband can eat ungodly amounts of food and the results are NOWHERE to be found on his body! haha. But really, this makes a HUGE amount of soup, so I say portion out enough to eat for that day’s meal and quickly freeze the rest!
If you try it be sure to stop by my blog and let me know what you think! I have several other soup recipes coming up including southwestern chicken and white bean soup and my FAVE white turkey chili. Yum!