Soup Weather

I don't know about you, but when

the weather starts to get cooler, I

start craving soups.

To me, there is nothing better on a cold

day than having a hot bowl of hearty soup.

I will usually make a double pot of soup at one time.

We will eat one pot throughout the week, and the other pot

will go into the freezer for use during those long winter days.

This Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini Soup

is great for freezing.

I will freeze our soup into quart size freezer baggies.

After your soup has cooled, label your freezer baggies.

To easily fill the baggies with soup,

I like to use a tall drinking cup and place the baggie

inside the cup like so.

Fill the baggie 3/4 full with the soup.

Before removing the baggie, push out any air and seal the top closed.

Remove from cup and lay flat in your freezer.

So far our freezer is filled with:

Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini Soup,

Cheeseburger Soup,
Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup,
and Chili.

I'm quite sure that there will be more soups added
to this list.

Hubby loves having these soups handy.

He can pull one out of the freezer,

and in a few minutes he can have a hot,

hearty bowl of soup.

Here is the recipe for this delicious soup.

Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion

3 medium carrots, diced or shredded

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves minced garlic

4 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded evenly to about 1/2 inch thickness

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter, sliced into 1 tablespoon pieces

1/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cups milk

9 ounce package refrigerated Three cheese Tortellini

4 cups fresh spinach

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

finely shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and mushrooms and saute 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add in chicken broth, chicken, oregano and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot with lid and allow to simmer 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly 1 minute. While whisking slowly pour in milk. Season with salt and pepper and bring mixture just to a light boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove cooked chicken from soup and transfer to a cutting board, let rest 15 minutes then cut into pieces. Meanwhile, add tortellini to soup in pot, cover pot with lid and allow to boil over medium heat about 7 minutes, adding in spinach during last 1 minute. Stir in chicken, white sauce and cream. Serve warm with sprinkled Parmesan cheese.

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Classy

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Veronica