Weekended

Evan's been suffering from a bad cold the last few days. Sunday night with a sad little voice, he asked me to make one of his favorite meals- garlicky tortellini soup. Not wanting to hurt his feverish sniffly feelings, I obliged. And it helps that I love it too.

I'm not exactly sure where this recipe came from. I used to make it A LOT when I worked at an Italian deli in college. (Yes, I was that cute girl in the back whipping up soups, cookies, and pasta salads.) Just like when I make it at my house, it was ALWAYS a hit at the shop.

It's SUPER easy, SUPER delish and SUPER comforting especially if you are feeling under the weather. And all of the ingredients are things you probably already have in your cupboards.


Cook pasta in a seperate pot until al dente. (You can use cheese tortelinni, raviolis, penne, whatever. One time I even used cannelinni beans because I didn't have pasta on hand.)
Heat 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter in a pot on medium heat.
Add chopped garlic (Fresh is best and add anywhere from 4 to 8 cloves. Sometimes more is SOOOO much better.)
Saute until fragrant.
Add one can of diced (low sodium) tomatoes with its water.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add a couple pinches of oregano for kicks.
Pour in about 4 cups (or more) of stock (chicken or veggie is best).
Let heat through.
Add about 1 to 2 cups frozen spinach.
Continue to heat through on low for about 15 to 20 minutes to make sure all the ingredients get EXTRA garlicky.
Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped basil (fresh is best, or frozen cubes are good too.)
Stir and remove from heat.
You can add pasta directly to soup now or you can serve it up in each bowl. (It tends to break down the next day if you have leftovers.)

Hope you like it as much as we do. Evan and his sorry little cold sure did.