Tomato Tortellini Soup

I've been wanting to try this particular soup recipe for awhile.  I found it in the Taste of Home magazine, and since the day I tore it out, I've said "Oh, I'll have to make that this week".  Well, last night finally became "this week", and I decided to try it as something different for dinner.  It's very easy to put together, so if you need to make dinner at the last minute, or you're just a little worn out from a long day, this is a good one to turn to.

Start by cooking your cheese tortellini (I used wheat; we love wheat pasta and that also happened to be all they had at the store) 

according to the package directions (or if you are the Super Woman that I dream to be someday, cook your freshly-made cheese tortellini until ready)

and then drain the pasta

While the pasta is cooking, you can start on the rest of the soup.  In a dutch oven or soup pot, mix together low-sodium tomato soup, 2% milk, half and half, vegetable broth, chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, and kosher salt

and heat over medium-low.  Once the pasta has cooked and drained, add it to the soup mixture, along with some shredded Parmesan cheese.  Once it's heated through, serve!

I garnished with a little fresh black pepper, some fresh basil from my container garden, and some grated (since I was out of shredded) Parmesan.

Here's the recipe:

1 (9oz) pkg. refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cans low-sodium tomato soup

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups 2% milk

2 cups half and half

1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish

1) Cook tortellini according to package directions.  Drain.

2) In soup pot, combine everything but the shredded Parmesan cheese and tortellini.  Heat through.

3) Add cooked tortellini.  Stir in the cheese.  Sprinkle each serving with additional Parmesan cheese.  Garnish with fresh basil leaves, if desired.

My suggestion for you - double the tortellini.  It was good the way it was, but would be even better with more of the pasta.  Also, next time I might try replacing some of the 2% milk with whole milk, or some of the half and half with some cream, to make it even creamier.

McCormick Recipe Inspirations!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to do some testing for the new McCormick Recipe Inspirations that you can now find in your local grocery store.  Thanks to Gather.com and McCormick, I was provided with four packets of Recipe Inspirations and was asked to prepare the recipes and share my results.  The four Recipe Inspirations I tried and reviewed were:

Garlic & Lime Chicken Fajitas

Apple & Sage Pork Chops

Rosemary Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Shrimp & Pasta Primavera

Here is a picture of the chicken & potatoes to whet your appetite while you read them:

Let me know if any of you try them (they have other Recipe Inspirations, as well) and what you think!

Coming up later today - my new bread obsession.  Stay tuned!

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese - yes, please!

Is there anyone who doesn't love mac & cheese?  It's a great comfort food, all warm and creamy and cheesy.  When I ran across this recipe in a magazine that crossed mac & cheese with the classic flavors of buffalo chicken wings - I knew I had to try it.  So glad I did!  This was scooped up quick, with just a little taste left for lunch the next day.  Check out the recipe and my notes below.

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

7 T butter

1 lb. macaroni

1 sm. onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

3 C shredded chicken

2 gloves garlic, minced

3/4 C hot sauce

2 T flour

2 tsp. dry mustard

2 1/2 C half & half

1 lb. yellow sharp cheddar, cut into 1" cubes

8 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese

2/3 C sour cream

1 C panko

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1) Preheat oven to 350; butter a 9x13" baking dish.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta and cook for about 7 minutes.  Drain.

2) Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 more minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

3) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Whisk in the half & half, the add the remaining 1/4 cup of hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses; whisk in the sour cream until thick, around another 2 minutes.

4) Spread 1/2 of the cooked macaroni in the buttered dish; top with chicken and then the rest of the macaroni.  Pour the sauce over the entire thing.

5) Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet and mix in the panko and parsley.  Sprinkle over the sauce.  Bake until bubbly, 30-40 minutes.

A few things about this recipe.  First, as you can probably tell, it's not health food.  So you're not going to serve it every night.  But everyone needs something creamy and cheesy now and then; this will be it, I promise.  Second, when I hit the grocery store to pick up the few ingredients for this I didn't already have on hand, there was no Pepper Jack cheese in the store.  At all.  I honestly didn't think that was possible, but apparently, it is.  So I used Monterey Jack cheese and it tasted fine.  Pepper Jack will definitely give it an extra kick, though, and the next time I make it, I will be sure to have Pepper Jack first.  Also, use whatever chicken you have or want.  I used a rotisserie chicken because that's what the original recipe called for, but next time, I will just boil some chicken breasts and then shred them.  It's a little more work but worth it.  Also, be sure to use real panko versus breadcrumbs.  It gives a nice crunch and adds texture.  And last, about the hot sauce - 3/4 cup sounds like a LOT of hot sauce and I was a little scared.  But it really didn't end up being overpowering at all.  And I actually used a blend of two different hot sauces.  I had been to a home show awhile back, and they gave out free bottles of Texas Pete's hot sauce; I had both Original Hot Sauce and the Garlic Hot Sauce.  They have a great flavor, so if you're looking for some, you can check out their website and keep an eye out in the store for them.  Or even order from them online.

Let me know if you loved this as much as we did!