Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach

This rich and creamy soup is in a word, heavenly.  Decadent but not to heavy; creamy, flavorful and just perfect for a cool fall evening.  And it only gets better as leftovers!  I should know...I ate it for the next 2 days for lunch!  And now I wish I had more. 

So you start by chopping some pretty standard veggies for a soup.  Carrots, celery and onions.  Also you'll chop your garlic cloves if using fresh (I used the minced kind from the jar for time saving purposes).  

Saute your veggies in a mixture of olive oil and butter, add flour and make a roux.  Follow that by a lot of half and half (really, a whole quart!), tortellini, chicken broth and some fresh spinach.  The result is a creamy, luxurious, wonderfully cold weather soup.  Yes, lots of cream (I didn't say it was healthy!), but also lots of veggies - including spinach which is so good for you.  Your family will ask for this again and again...

 Creamy Tortellini and Spinach Soup

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup celery diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup flour

1 quart of half and half

1 can of reduced sodium chicken broth (14 oz)

pinch of nutmeg

1 package of frozen tortellini 

1 1/2 cups of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until the veggies are tender about 8-10 minutes.  Add the flour and stir, forming a roux for another minute.  Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until everything is incorporated.  Add the nutmeg and allow to simmer, stirring often until the soup becomes thicker, about 5-8 minutes.  

Add the tortellini and allow it to come back up to a simmer; the tortellini will start to float when they are done (about 3-4 minutes).  Add the spinach, let wilt, and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with good bread for dipping.   

(Souce:  Adapted from Pass the Sushi)

Tortellini Bake

This is one of those meals that your family will have no idea it only took like 5 minutes to throw together.  It is delicious and so fast!  I always (always!) have bags of frozen tortellini or ravioli on hand because they cook in minutes and are great for nights when I just don't have the energy or time to do something more extensive for dinner.  

Last night was one of those nights...

But I made a little more effort this time and mixed 2 different types of sauce, tossed it all together with the tortellini, topped with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and voila!  There, that's the recipe, really.

Just kidding, I have the specifics below, although I feel like I can hardly call it a recipe! 

Serves 4-6 

Tortellini Bake

1 bag of frozen cheese filled tortellini (19 or 20 oz)

1 jar of alfredo sauce (15 oz)

1/2 jar of marinara sauce 

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the tortellini according to package directions.  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and in a medium bowl, mix the 2 sauces together.  Drain the tortellini and toss the pasta together with the sauce mixture.  Pour everything into a baking dish (Mine was oval but something like an 8x8 or 9x9 will do).  Top with mozzarella cheese, followed by Parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 15 minutes until it's all heated through again and the cheese has melted.  Turn your broiler on for the last 5 minutes if you want to get your cheese crispy in some places (that's what I did).