Start with some soup!

I've been telling myself for a long time now that I need to start a blog so I can remember what delicious dinners my husband and I make so that we can refer back to them on the days when we can't decide what to have. I finally worked up the courage and the time to start putting this together. And, what better way to start a blog than with a soup!

I love soup. Probably more than I should. But, being lactose intolerant, my soup choices are typically fairly limited. Any time we go out to eat if I see the words "creamy" next to a soup, I know what it means. There are so few good, non-dairy soups at restaurants, so I like to create my own. This one is similar to one I found on Budget Bytes. I've adapted it a little just because we didn't have everything required.

 

Simple Spinach Tortellini Soup 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1-1.5 cups chopped onion

2 tsps. garlic salt and/or garlic powder

1 can pasta sauce (at least 16 oz, preferably in the 20s)

1 can diced tomatoes (I prefer the no-salt added)

1-1.5 cans water (use pasta sauce after it's emptied)

1 heaping tsp. basil

1 heaping tsp. oregano

2 tsps. pepper

1 package tortellini

1 package frozen spinach  or 4 cups fresh spinach

Step-by-step instructions

1. Cut the onion into smallish pieces.

2. Put onion, olive oil, and garlic salt/powder in large pot and cook until onion lightly browns.

3. Add in pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, water, basil, oregano, and pepper. Stir together and turn heat to medium-medium/high until soup simmers (just below a full boil).

4. Add in tortellini and spinach (if frozen, no need to thaw). If using fresh spinach, you will want to cut it up into smallish pieces.

5. Cook until tortellini is tender. Add salt, if desired.

I like to top this with a bit of cheese, just enough to flavor, not enough to make my lactose-intolerance kick in. We also had a homemade whole-wheat focaccia bread with this. I'll be posting that recipe later.

Hope you all enjoy this as much as I do!