It’s raining outside.  The clouds are hanging low over the autumn patch-worked mountain behind my home and it is beautiful.  On a day like this, nothing sounds better than soup.

One of my favorite recipes is so easy you can throw it together in less than 30 minutes. After a long day, that’s just what I need.  It’s even quite healthy and my kids love it.

Here’s the recipe:

Tortellini Spinach Tomato Soup

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart home canned tomatoes (or 2 14.5 oz cans crushed tomatoes, or 1 can crushed and 1 can diced)
• 2 quarts chicken broth (or vegetable)
• 1 lb. package tortellini, frozen or fresh
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and broth.  Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil.  Add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions.  When tortellini’s have about a minute left to cook, add spinach.  Once spinach is added, salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.

Serves 8

Click on over to Tasty Kitchen for the printable recipe.

1.  Start with a medium onion.

Since I wish someone had shown me how to chop an onion when I was first learning to cook, I thought I should share a quick onion cutting tutorial, for any new cooks out there.  When choosing an onion, look for tight, dry skin and a firm feel… and no black marks, that could mean mold under the skin.

Chop the pointed end of the onion off.  And then chop the onion in half.  Peel back the skin of the onion, like so.  Now you can use the skin like a handle.

Slice the across the onion horizontally and evenly, as shown.  Slice almost to the end, but not all the way through.  You can slice wider for more chunky onion or thinner for finely chopped.  I usually put my palm on top of the onion to stabilize it while cutting.  But I couldn’t take the photograph and keep my hand there.

Next make even vertical slices across the onion.

Now chop, across the onion and there you have it, perfectly chopped onion.  I can’t say it won’t make you cry, but at least it makes it fast so you aren’t crying for long.

2.  Now back to the soup.  Finely mince two cloves of garlic.

3.  In a stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.

4.  Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

5.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

6.  Add the chicken broth.

7.  Add a quart jar of tomatoes.  Or two 14.5 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes (or a can of each.)

8.  Bring to a boil.

9.  Once the soup comes to a boil, add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions.  You can use fresh or frozen.  The frozen just needs to cook longer.

10.  When tortellini’s are almost done cooking, add 10 ounces of baby spinach.  You can also use regular spinach, but I like to run my knife through it for a quick chop so the pieces aren’t so large.

11.  Once the spinach has cooked (approx. 30 seconds,) taste the soup and season with salt and pepper.

Doesn’t that look good?  Ben calls it turtle soup because he can’t remember tortellini.  Is that what tortellini means in Italian, I wonder?

Garnish with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  It’s the perfect dinner for chilly day when you’re short on time.  Enjoy!

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