Chicken & Sausage Tortellini Soup

Now that spring is upon us, I feel that "comfort food season" is coming to a close....

Wait. Let me rephrase that.

Now that spring is supposed to be upon us, I feel that "comfort food season" is coming to a close and now's the time to get our last jollies in.

I say that spring is supposed to be upon us because it sure doesn't feel like it here in New England. It's been chilly and rainy for weeks on end. Yuck! Where are you warm spring weather?

But I digress. The point being that I was really in the mood for some soup. I was in the grocery store trying to determine what kind of soup I should make and what I needed to buy to make that soup. Nothing like last minute meal planning. When I walked by the fresh pasta area, I remembered a post that Amber from Amber's Delectable Delights had for her Cleaning Out the Fridge Tortellini Soup.

My version is a bit different but thank you, Amber, for your inspiration! If it weren't for you I surely would have made some boring version of chicken noodle soup. My husband thanks you too since we both thoroughly enjoyed this! :-)

p.s. Don't forget about Recipe Remix!


Chicken & Sausage Tortellini Soup
(Inspired by: Amber's Delectable Delights)

4 cans chicken broth (I used low sodium, fat free)
1 can of water
3/4 cup baby carrots, diced into small pieces
1 cup celery, diced into small pieces
½ of a small onion, diced fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¾ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 small cooked chicken breasts diced into 1/3 inch cubes
3 sweet cooked Italian sausages, diced into 1/3 inch cubes
9 oz fresh cheese tortellini boiled and cooked per package directions

Combine first 10 ingredients in large pot. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes.

In the meantime, cook tortellini al dente, according to package directions, drain, and rinse. Once simmering time is up, add tortellini, chicken, and sausage to pot. Cover again and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.