sunday soup-pers

I like making soup on Sunday nights for dinner. Especially in the winter. (I know, it's not winter yet. And today was quite warm, actually. But I have a thing for soup on Sunday nights. And then popcorn later on around 9 pm too, while Phil and I watch Cold Case. Hey, it's the only prime time TV show we get to watch together because of his insane work schedule. We deserve a little popcorn.)

Yesterday I was putting some cookbooks away that we used last week and I saw a little paperback called the Goosebery Patch "Chicken Cookbooklet." I got it for a buck on clearance at a favorite little gift store called the Parsley Pot back in Ohio. My girlfriends and I used to frequent that store quite often. It's an old barn that they've refurbished into this gift shop. They had tons of candles, lots of dried flower arrangements, seasonal decorations, and - unlike your typical barns - it always just smelled so good in there :)

Those same girlfriends (who were all three pregnant with raging hormones at the same time as my sister) and I were the inseperable scrapbookers who would spend a couple hours at Denny's afterwards laughing and eating late night snacks like "Moons over My-Hammy" and "Larry Big Bird" sandwiches. Don't blame me for the lame menu item names. Talk to the folks over at Denny's. And once we invaded the Gooseberry Patch annual clearance sale avoiding a really insane long line because one of us, and I won't mention any names, pretended to have to go to the bathroom. We begged at the door, and they actually let us in!!! But that's another blog for another day. (Here's a picture of us from one of my bridal showers. L to R - Keri, Natalie, Glenda, and me in front ~ I miss you guys!!! And you three might like to know that not only can I make soup, but the gravy is turning out just fine! HA!!!)

I browsed through it and saw this one. . .Chicken-Tortellini Soup. I decided to give it a try. I served it with some garlic cheese bread. YUM!!! It's way better than the regular old chicken noodle.

Here's the recipe. . .

8 c. chicken broth
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. celery, chopped
1 onion, diced (I didn't use quite that much.)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 T. dried parsley
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1 c. cheese tortellini, uncooked (I just dumped in the whole bag of Barilla which was probably more like 2 cups.)

Over low heat, simmer chicken broth, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and pepper for about an hour or until veggies are tender. Bring to a gentle boil. Add chicken and tortellini. Boil about 5 to 10 minutes or until tortellini rises to the surface. Remove bay leaves before serving. Makes 8 servings.