It seems that I have taken a looong hiatus from my blog.... but don't think I haven't been scouring Pinterest or Foodies TV on FB to add some more ideas to my ever revolving door of "go to recipes" for the fam! Recently I found this gem and it is actually the first soup I have attempted. I can't believe how ridiculously good it turned out! After I made this soup, I knew I had to get on right away and blog it, as it was too good to pass up sharing!
So, I play Bunco with a group of teachers and some friends once a month on a Friday night. The host of the game is in charge of making dinner for the group and one night we were provided the most delicious spicy hot sausage and tortellini soup one could have ever tasted! The host said she found the recipe on Pinterest, so I started looking and found an Italian sausage and tortellini soup and pinned it. (Although I'm still searching for the one she made...)
Last week I went back to this soup when planning my weekly menu and decided to take Sunday to throw it in the crock-pot for Monday night (instead of wasting the beautiful day doing schoolwork tenía ganas de cocinar!)... After all, it was 68 degrees in Dallas on this day and what is a better way to spend the day than opening the kitchen door to the fresh January air, throwing on some classic salsa music, and chopping up and throwing together some fresh ingredients to smell up the house with an impossibly irresistible aroma? So that's what I did and it made our normal "back to school blues" Sunday amaazing! I think I "created" the most flavorful, delicious, hearty, and comforting soup I have ever put my lips to, all while teaching my 3 year old son the basic steps to salsa dancing in our kitchen ; )
I followed this recipe (below) almost exactly, but changed it up a bit to make it in the crock-pot. The recipe is written to make stove-top and says it only takes 10 mins. prep, 30 mins. cook time. Depending on when you prepare it and your availability, decide what you want to do.
I personally preferred to bask in the addicting scent that filled my house after a few hours of simmering in
the ol' crock-pot...
Italian Sausage and Tortellini with Kale (my version)
Two 32 oz. boxes chicken broth (64 oz. or 8 cups)
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil (I used freeze dried!)
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion or half a large onion, chopped
One red bell pepper, chopped
About 1 and a half cups kale, chopped
1 bag frozen (or fresh) cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)
*Toppings such as artichokes, red pepper flakes, chopped green onions, feta cheese, shaved Parmesan cheese
Combine 2 boxes of chicken broth, 2 cans diced tomatoes, don't drain, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and a bay leaf in crock-pot, stir, and set on high. *I found a really cool brand of freeze dried basil called LiteHouse! It's chopped super small and is supposed to last a long time, you just add water!
Meanwhile, start cooking the sweet Italian sausage in a pan filled with water. *The original recipe calls for 1lb. of sausage that can be rolled into balls, but I just used a package of Johnsonville sausages that come five in a pack. I also used sweet sausage, for the kiddos, but next time I will probably go for the hot sausage since we love spicy!
In another pan, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and heat. Add three minced garlic cloves, the chopped onion, and one chopped red bell pepper. Sautee until red peppers are soft and onions are translucent. Add this mixture to the broth in the crock-pot. Salt and pepper soup to taste.
Finish cooking the sausage and chop into bite size pieces. Add to crock-pot.
Finally, wash and chop about 1 and a half cups of kale. Add to crock-pot.
This was the First time I ventured into the kale trend besides juicing, so I literally looked on YouTube for How to chop kale !
Cover and continue to cook on high for about 1 hour stirring occasionally. Then, cook on low for 2 and a half hours and stir every once in a while.
Add a bag of frozen (or fresh) cheese tortellini and cook an additional hour on high and continue to stir (and taste!)
Kid version with shaved parm and a garlic knot.
A few reasons why this was the best soup ever:
1. I live with a "non-soup" person and he LOVED it!
2. This soup was kid-tested and LOVED!
3. The kids ate tomatoes, red pepper, onions, basil, and kale and didn't even flinch...
4. We altered the soup depending on each person's likes, and it was unbelievable no matter what we topped it with...
5. Probably one of the easiest, but most delicious meals I have ever made...
6. I have leftovers to share, eat, and freeze!
My version topped with artichokes, green onions, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes!
Enjoy-and spread the love, er, the SOUP. <3LML
