Tortellini Soup

It's been rainy and cold recently so I decided a simple soup was in order. It had been a while since I'd made this one and with a busy week, this was something good to have around the house. Plus, I had some carrots and celery to use, so there we go!

I don't know the original source of this recipe. I got it from my mom and I'm not sure where she got it. Either way, I've (of course) adapted it a bit, so it's more my own now anyway. But if I find the source, I will certainly add credit!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1-2 tsp. minced jarred garlic)
• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups cheese tortellini (see note)
  
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional, see note)
  

Directions:

Add chicken broth to a large pot and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, chop celery and carrots. Once boiling, add carrots, celery, garlic, a bit of salt & pepper and red pepper flakes if desired, reduce heat slightly, cover and simmer about 15 min., stirring occasionally. Add tortellini and cook according to package (about 8 min. more), stirring occasionally.

Serve with bread. Makes about 6 servings.

Notes:

One of the biggest keys to making this dish low in calories/fat is the tortellini used. When checking out a few different brands in the store, I noticed a wide variety in calories and fat content for about the same size serving. I ended up getting the three cheese tortellini Buitoni brand9 oz. (235 g) size, which equaled exactly 2 1/2 cups of tortellini. Nutritional information below.

I like to add some red pepper flakes to this to give it some heat. Use caution in adding too much, or it will overpower the dish, since it's broth-based and there isn't much else in the simple soup to mask them.

For leftovers, you will notice a good majority of the broth gets sucked up by the tortellini. It generally gets soupier when you reheat but if you need a bit more, add a bit of water before reheating.

Review:

This is a really quick soup to make, which is nice. Plus, I don't really think it has a "season". Although I might not make it in the summer, it was nice on a cold, rainy spring day. I love that we can have some tortellini for not a ton of calories. It hits the spot!

Nutritional Information: Makes about 6 servings.

Per serving:
161.5 calories
4.3 grams of fat (2.1 saturated)
2.8 grams dietary fiber

Buitoni tortellini: Serving size 1 cup. 330 calories, 9 grams fat (3 saturated), 4 grams dietary fiber. This is incorporated into the total above but might help when shopping for the right pasta to use.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

The stuff:

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, diced (at least one cup)

2-3 tsp. dried basil

2-3 tsp. dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, crushed (can also use 2-3 tsp. minced jarred garlic)

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

2 cups chopped green peppers (generally two green peppers is enough)

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

3-4 cups beef broth

¾ cup brown rice (not minute rice), uncooked

Pepper to taste

*I forgot to include the green peppers in this photo and then they didn't photograph well,

so don't forget to include them. :)

The execution:

Brown beef with onion over medium heat and place in the crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours. *As shown, will be soupier at the beginning before the rice cooks.

Less beef broth will give it more of a chili consistency; adding more will make it soupier. I usually add 4 cups, but generally have a bit more than 1 lb of meat.

Can also be cooked on the stove – add all ingredients to a large pot and simmer for 1 hour.

Makes about 12 cups. 1 cup is approximately 3 WW points. I think it’s about 150 calories per serving but I wasn’t able to figure it out exactly.

Tips:

Some recipes say to cook the rice beforehand, but I wouldn’t recommend it, as it cooks just fine over time in the crock pot. I also add some ground-up herbs de provence and a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes for a bit more flavor.

If you want to make it even leaner, cook the ground beef and onion separately and then drain and rinse the beef before adding to the crock pot. Since there are so many other flavors in this recipe, it won’t be lacking.

An additional variation would be to substitute barley for the rice.

I usually find the long grain brown rice it in the bulk section of the grocery store.

The beef broth can be done with pre-made beef broth or by making it with bullion cubes. I’ve done both with success.

The review:

Fantastic – great comfort food!

This has become one of our favorite meals. If you don’t love cooked green peppers (as my husband doesn’t), this soup is still worth a try. There are enough ingredients and flavors that the green peppers aren’t everything in the soup, but still have a presence.

I rarely made soup before coming across this recipe. Soup is generally not one of my favorite dishes but this particular soup has me wanting to make it again and again! Very flavorful AND filling for not a ton of calories.

It really doesn’t need much to round out the meal since it’s pretty sturdy on its own, but a bowl goes well with some crusty, whole grain bread.

Overall, it’s a great winter-time dish (or early spring when it’s still cold out, as it is here!).

If the amount of soup in this recipe is a lot, I still recommend making the full amount. It will cook the best in the crock pot that way. I’ve frozen part of a batch before and it worked well.

*Recipe originally inspired from a handout at a Weight Watchers meeting. Has been adapted quite a bit.