Tortellini Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup. The pinnacle of comfort soups, in my opinion. I've made nearly hundreds of batches of chicken noodle soup from scratch since we were married 7 1/2 years ago. But I've discovered recently just how to take the simple classic to an entirely new mouthwatering level. It's kind of annoying how good it was, because I always thought I had a pretty steady recipe to depend on when it came to the beloved Chicken Noodle Soup. 

Nope. There was just one ingredient missing. And that one ingredient pretty much made me obsessed with making the next hundred batches differently. 

It's that gosh dang tortellini, folks. The soft pockets of cheesy heaven. It completely changes this soup - but without reinventing the wheel. It's so simple. I didn't think it would make THAT much of a difference, but it had me hooked right-off-the-bat. 

Don't mind the "crinkled carrot" look. My son helps me in the kitchen, and he ended up using his safety knife that has a little bit of a strange look on the veggies he chops! I was going to maybe edit it out, but oh how I love it when my son helps me in the kitchen! I mean, it's definitely on the top 5 things a Momma should teach her son - cooking. That little crinkled carrot reminds me of how I'm trying, and how the seed of his love of cooking has already begin to sprout and grow. Did I mention he's three? (I'm only a little obsessed). 

I'm not going to go step-by-step through the recipe for you fine folks. Y'all know how to make soup, and if you don't, the recipe is so simple, you'll pick it up the very first try. Everyone should be able to make a traditional batch of chicken noodle soup - and if you haven't already, this is an awesome place to start... and finish! Haha. It's the greatest, and won our hearts over the first time we tried it (and every time we made it again ever since). That's how you know you've found a winner. Hope you lovelies are having a warm & safe week! I'll be back soon with some more recipe goodness. :) 

Tortellini Chicken Noodle Soup 

makes 5-6 servings

ingredients:

1 1/2 T EVOO

1 1/2 C chopped carrots (about 5 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into coins)

1 C chopped celery (about 3 stalks)

1 C yellow onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 bay leaf 

1 1/2 t Italian seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

12oz refrigerated three cheese tortellini

1/2 C chopped parsley

2-3 C shredded rotisserie chicken

method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion, and saute for about 3-4 minutes. Toss in the garlic, and then saute about 30 seconds longer. 

2. Stir in chicken broth, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and let boil for 5 minutes. Add tortellini and parsley, turn heat down to a simmer, cover and cook for about 6 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Stir in chicken and cook until heated through. Serve warm. 

recipe adapted from: Cooking Classy