Tuesday at the Table: Tortellini Soup of Thankfulness

I am thankful for many things, but I am especially thankful for the strong relationship I have with my loving, supportive parents. Even though I am a grown woman with a child of my own, they are still an enormous source of comfort and strength. One recipe that reminds me of their love and care is Tortellini Soup. One day, when I was in need of moral support, my parents invited me over for a meal. My mom made Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortellini Soup from Everyday Pasta, by Giada De Laurentiis. It was exactly what I needed: warm, filling and healthier than eating Ben & Jerry’s straight from the carton. Later at home, I tweaked the recipe to make it a bit faster and easier. I also found that it freezes well and I do love to freeze food for later. This soup is now one of my stand-bys. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Tortellini Soup of Thankfulness

Serves six to eight

Ingredients:

A bit of olive oil
A package of pancetta or prosciutto, chopped
Two or three shallots, chopped
One bag shredded carrot
A spoonful of jarred, minced garlic
One 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Four cups or so of bagged baby spinach
Six cups of Swanson’s chicken broth
One small package of cheese tortellini

Directions:

After getting out all the ingredients and chopping the pancetta and shallots, heat the olive oil in a big pot over medium heat. Toss in the meat, shallots, carrots and garlic and cook for five minutes. Stir as needed. Add the beans, spinach and broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook until done, about five minutes. Salt to taste.

Linking up to my mom’s Tuesday at the {Thanksgiving} Table linky party and giveaway.

Tuesday at the Table: Butternut Squash-Leek Soup

I always enjoy the time of year when the air starts to chill and the leaves begin to turn. It means the return of sweaters, scarves, and most importantly, soups! I love to make a big batch of soup during the weekend, freeze it, and then reheat a bowl for my workday lunches. I found the following recipe in the Cooking Light: Annual Recipes 2007 cookbook and tweaked it a bit. It is the perfect thing to prepare on a lazy weekend morning: quick, easy and yummy. Also, it’s freezable, so you can reheat it another day and transform cooking time into sewing time!

Butternut Squash-Leek Soup

Makes six cups of soup

Ingredients:

1 whole garlic head

4 teaspoons olive oil

6 cups thinly sliced leek (about 4 leeks)

4 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 packages frozen butternut squash)

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then make your small child breakfast. While she eats (and feeds half of it to the dog), remove the outer papery skin from a head of garlic, plop it on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle it with olive oil. Wrap the garlic up in the aluminum foil and pop it in the preheated oven. Set the timer for one hour, ten minutes.

2.       Play with your small child and marvel at how quickly an hour and ten minutes goes by. Remove the garlic from the oven and set aside.  Turn off the oven and return to caring for your small child.

6 cups sliced leeks

3.       While your small child naps, wash and slice four leeks. Put the leeks and olive oil in a pot and cook over medium-high heat until tender (five minutes or so).

Frozen Butternut Squash

4.    While the leeks are cooking, smush the roasted garlic out of its skin. Add the garlic, squash, water, chicken broth and salt to the pot. Cover and wash dishes until the soup boils.

5.       Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heats and simmer 10 minutes or so until the squash is nice and soft. Let cool a bit while you finish the dishes. Purée using an immersion hand blender. Pour into six freezer-safe containers and pop into the fridge to enjoy at your leisure.

Immersion Blender in Action

6.       Sew until your small child wakes up from her nap.

Stop by A Quilter’s Table to find more Tuesday at the Table posts!