Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

I love finding new soup recipes to try. It's winter, and so, it's pretty chilly outside. Because of this, I have been in a soup making mood. I have been trying to make a new soup once a week. A great thing about having soup is that it goes great with sandwiches like paninis. My amazing boyfriend got me a panini grill for Christmas, and it's amazing. I have been using it daily. Soup is also easy to make for large families, which I have. 

I purchased some tortellini from the store and decided that I wanted to incorporate into a creamy tomato soup. I found a ton of great recipes. 

This creamy tomato tortellini soup is amazing. I could eat the whole bowl, but I restrained my self. It's really delicious. My family loved it especially with grilled cheese that I made with my panini grill (yummy). I'm drooling just thinking about it.  

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

adapted from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients: 

• 1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini (also the tortellini found in the pasta isle works)
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• (or 3 cups milk & 1 cup heavy cream)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used the Italian blend cheese, use what ever is on hand)
• Additional shredded parmesan cheese for topping, optional
• Oyster Crackers, optional

Directions: 

1. Cook the tortellini according to package directions. In a large pot, add the tomato soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and reduce soup to a simmer.
2. Drain tortellini and add to the soup. Add parmesan cheese. Serve and sprinkle with additional cheese on top and/or crackers if desired.
3. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Oh, and I hope everyone had a safe and joyous holiday season. 

Peace, love, bake on.

                            Andrea 

Copycat Ragu Tomato Sauce

Lately, I have been playing around with marinara sauces. A lot of marinara sauces are a crushed tomato base. These sauces are usually pretty thick but sometimes can be slightly watery or runny but the flavor is amazing. But if you are used the canned sauces from the  store such as Ragu or Prego. Ragu, for example, seems to me to be a tomato sauce or paste based. My family liked the texture and thickness of the Ragu sauces and I couldn't get that with my favorite marinara sauces for some reason. And so now I sometimes make this copycat Ragu sauce with some minor adjustments. 

So after a long internet search, I found this recipe for which I made some minor adjustments. 

The recipe I found was addressed "Copycat Ragu Tomato Sauce"

The Ingredients you will need:

• 29 oz. Tomato sauce 
• 14.5 canned Italian diced tomatoes or can of crushed tomatoes
• 4 oz. sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 5 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tbs. grated Parmesan and Romano cheese each.
• 1 tsp. dried basil 
• 1/2 dried parsley
• 3 garlic cloves chopped finely. (or 1 1/2 tsp. of minced garlic)
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup onion finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

In a sauce combine all the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes (simmer on a very low flame otherwise you will scorch your pot. Simmer uncovered  or partially covered to help it reach the desired thickness. When stirring use a wooden spoon rather than an aluminum or metal spoon.). After it is finished cooking, serve as desired. 

* I added ground hamburger to the sauce. Or you can even add meatballs. Get creative. 

 Have fun and get creative. Good luck!

Andrea