Creamy Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup

Uh, as far as soup goes, this is hands-down delicious. 

Creamy, savory broth?  Check.

Chewy tortellini filled with cheesy goodness?  Check. 

Crammed with the green goodness of spinach and protein-packed chicken?  Check.

Here was my scenario- The hubby and I picked up a rotisserie chicken last week for the National Championship game, mainly for chicken meat to put on a pizza. You really don't have to put much meat on a pizza, so I had oodles of leftover chicken. And I always make broth out of my chicken bones, so I had lots of fresh broth too. Actually, this scenario happens quite often and one of the remedies for it is chicken soup. There are 5 million recipes out there on the Internet,  especially for soup involving chicken, so it's fun to choose new ones to try. My usual M.O. is to type key words into Google and then search the images until I find one that looks to-die-for. 

And that's how I found this recipe.

The base recipe was for the slow cooker, which means the original recipe intended to use raw chicken. Since I was using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, I decided to forgo the crock pot and adapt this into a regular, on-the-stove type recipe. This isn't a soup you have to simmer for hours, so it actually came together really fast. It's packed with flavor, and the delicious broth/cream mixture is perfect for sopping up with crusty bread. You will not be disappointed by this recipe. The hubby and I actually ate on it for a couple of days. Due to the sensitive nature of both the tortellini and the spinach, I don't recommend freezing this soup. I've been through trial and error with soups made with pasta and/or spinach. Neither comes out of the defrosting process the way they went in. Spinach becomes slimy, and pasta simply breaks down. Half the fun in pasta is the chewy texture, and the freezer ruins all that. 

So, my advice? Just eat all of this up :)

Happy Friday everyone! I can't believe we are on the eve of another weekend, but what's really unbelievable is that January is almost over. Are you serious? This month flew by. I've been feeling a little down, mainly because my knees have been affecting my running. I'm feeling the pressure of my 500-mile goal. How am I going to manage that when I've already lost a month of running? I just have to take a deep breath, and stay calm. Tell myself I'll run as much as I can, when I can. There's no point in exacerbating an injury just so I can declare how far I ran in 2015. I also have only read one book this month, instead of my goal of three. I haven't made my doctor's appointments. I haven't re-started on my stockpile. 

It would be easy to say, "That's it, 2015 is ruined."

Again, deep breath --> Isn't it amazing how much deep breathing can calm you down?

And now, I remind myself that life is not about the destination. It's about the journey. There are still 342 days in this year. 

I can, and I will :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

6 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup flour

1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes

1 tbsp dried basil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 (20 oz) package of cheese tortellini

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

3 cups spinach

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add onions. Sauté 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic, sauté for 30 seconds-1 minute, or until fragrant. Add tomato paste to pan, cook for 1 minute. 

2. In a small bowl, add flour to chicken broth. Whisk to thoroughly combine. Add chicken broth mixture, tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

3. Add tortellini to the pan, and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until tortellini begin to float to the top. Add chicken. Add spinach, stir to incorporate into the soup.

4. Pour cream slowly into the pot while stirring. Add cheese to the pot, stir until melted. Remove soup from heat, ladle into bowls, and top with fresh parsley. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Chicken Soup with Shells and Kale

Chicken Taco Soup

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Treasure Box Tuesday