Posted by Ashley Copperstone
Frugal Foods, Happy Stomachs: Mom's Tortellini Soup
Not to reinforce parental stereotypes, but my mom is known to be quite masterful in the kitchen on occasion. She has, year after year, cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal for my family on her own, which is no small feat. That is not, however, where she truly shines. I am a big believer in the mantra that simple cooking is the best cooking, so today I am letting you in on a big family secret. Well, I'm sure if you saw the dish you could figure out the ingredients on your own, so it's not too much of a secret, but that isn't what's important. What is important is my mom's tortellini soup.
On cold winter nights in my childhood, usually Sunday evenings before the Wonderful World of Disney movie special played on ABC, my mom would pull a package of tortellini out of the fridge and immediately I was happier for the soup than for the film. It started out really basic, with tortellini, chicken stock and parsley, but as I grew older and my palate expanded, we began to add a little more flavor and more ingredients. So, pick a Sunday, gather up your school family and thank my mom as you chow down on this delicious soup.
Mom's Tortellini Soup (With a Twist):
?3 Sweet Italian sausages, defrosted and uncased
?1 appropriately sized package of Tortellini
?? carton of chicken stock
?2 cups of water
?4 fistfuls of spinach
?3 Portobello mushrooms, chopped
?1 onion, chopped
?A pinch of parsley
?A pinch of basil
?Salt and Pepper to taste
Step 1: Place a saucepan on the stove on medium high heat. On another burner, fill a stew pot with chicken stock and water, and bring to a steady boil.
Step 2: When the saucepan becomes hot, toss sausage meat into the pan and cook until browned. Take the meat out of the pan and throw the onions and mushrooms in. Once browned, put the onion and mushroom mixture into the stew pot.
Step 3: Once stew pot has reached a boil, place tortellini in and cook for five to eight minutes if defrosted and eight to ten minutes if frozen. Stir when needed.
Step 4: Once the tortellini is halfway cooked, place spinach and sausage in the stew pot and continue cooking.
Step 5: Add parsley, basil, salt and pepper.
Step 6: Once tortellini is cooked, take it off the burner, put the soup in a bowl, and add some cheese.
Step 7: Enjoy while hot!