Simmering Soup - Day 4

I am enjoying this week and hope you are, too! Day 4 of Simmering Soup! If you're just coming by, don't miss out on the previous days:

Day 1 - Giveaway, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Day 2 - Strawberry Soup, Link to Creamy Potato and Garlic Soup
Day 3 - 2 Chilis, Lots of soup recipes linked up

If you have a yummy soup recipe to share, let me know! If Mr. Linky comes back, you can post it there on Day 3, otherwise let me know where to get the link to your soup in comments and I'll manually add the link.

What to do with all this soup? I always make extra and freeze some. It's so nice to pull it out of the freezer later when you are short on time! Another idea is to have some soup for your Superbowl gathering. You can keep the soup warm in a slow cooker and have heat-proof disposable cups and plastic spoons. I think some of the chili recipes would be really nice for this. You could do the same thing for a potluck.

"Is chicken soup good for your health?" "Not if you're the chicken."

Today's soup can be given as a gift mix (and is featured in my giveaway). I'll give some instructions after the recipe for making the mix. The recipe came from The Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook:

Very Veggie Tortellini Soup

Very Veggie Tortellini Soup

2/3 cup dried tortellini
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup green split peas
1/2 cup dried chopped carrots (I haven't found these; I use 2-3 fresh sliced carrots and saute them first)
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules (or substitute chicken broth for some of the water)
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (or use 1/2 chopped onion and saute first)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 cups water

1. Place all ingredients except tortellini in a medium pot. Add the water and stir well.

2. Bring to a boil over med.-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes while stirring occasionally.

3. Add the tortellini to the pot. Cover and simmer another 10-15 minutes, or until the tortellini is cooked. Serve hot.

4. Refrigerate any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

4 (1-cup) servings

My variations:
- I use fresh onion and carrots, cut them up and saute first - then add the other ingredients.
- Sometimes I use the bouillon and water, and sometimes I use chicken broth - add extra water if the soup tastes too salty or seasoned for you.
- I use more tortellini than called for - I like it to be a thicker soup rather than a brothy one.
- I add chopped, cooked chicken to the soup to make it a heartier main dish soup.
- I ALWAYS at least double and usually triple the recipe. I like leftovers!

If you want to give this soup as a gift mix, layer ingredients in a pint-size jar (for 4 servings - or double ingredients, use a quart-size jar and don't forget to double the water in the recipe you give with it!) in the order given:

Bottom to top:
2/3 cup dried tortellini (in plastic bag)
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup green split peas
1/2 cup dried chopped carrots
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules

Make layers as level as possible. Secure a lid and decorate. Attach recipe.

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I hope you give that one a try! Don't forget to look back at the past days for more soup recipes! Come back tomorrow for the last day of Simmering Soup! If you have soup recipes to link up, remember to let me know - let's keep adding them to Day 3 so we'll have one spot full of fabulous soup!