Meatball & Tortellini Soup

I have made this soup a few times and a few different ways, but it is always delicious and a family favorite!  It's my modern day version of chicken noodle soup!  Here's how to make it.

Recipe:

3 tbs olive oil

1 chopped onion

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

4 carrots peeled and chopped

5 ribs of celery with leaves chopped

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup of white wine

1 32oz carton of broth (beef, chicken or veg all work)

1 can of diced tomatoes or 1/2 a jar of prepared marinara sauce

1/2 a package of mini meatballs (I use the Trader Joe's brand)

1 package of cheese tortellini (I used 1/2 a package of the tri-colored from Costco)

1 large handful of fresh baby spinach

Parmesan cheese to garnish

In a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat add olive oil, onions, garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Saute for 3-5 minutes until onions start to become translucent, add carrots and celery. Continue to saute stirring frequently.  Add thyme and wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the little bits that may be sticking at the bottom of your pot.  Add canned tomatoes or marinara and whichever type of broth you prefer.  I find beef to be the richest in flavor, chicken a happy medium and vegetable to be a very light but tasty broth.  After broth comes to a boil reduce heat to simmer and let all vegetables cook through for about 15 minutes.  If you find the broth cooks down a lot add a little more broth or a little water works fine too!  Add the frozen meatballs and let heat for 5-10 minutes.  When you add the meatballs start a separate pot of water to boil to cook your tortellini in.  This is really optional, as you can easily throw the tortellini right in the soup to cook, however I prefer to make it separately as the leftovers tend to be mushy with overcooked pasta the next day.  If you choose to cook the tortellini separately just follow the instructions on the package then add a ladle full of drained tortellini to the bottom of each bowl that you plan to serve the soup in.  Right before you ladle up the soup add a generous handful of spinach and let wilt for a few seconds. Ladle soup over the top of the tortellini and garnish with parmesan cheese.  

Enjoy!

Heather