Fire Roasted Tomato and Chicken Soup with Cheese Tortellini

Spring is finally here but the snow on the ground means that it's still chilly outside. And that means that I'm still making soup. A lot. We just love those 'warm-you-up-dinners' in our house!

I try to make a lot of different kinds of soups to keep things interesting around here and get everyone to try new styles and flavor combinations. I usually try to incorporate a meat since soup is our main course instead of a starter. (But I throw in a few veggie-only soups now and then just for fun.) This one happens to have meat but it can easily be left out if you're a vegetarian or not big on meat soups.

This soup in particular was inspired by tortellini. I bought a double pack at Costco and new right away that I wanted to make soup with half of it. I immediately thought of a tomato based broth but just needed the fillers. Chicken is a big go-to in our house and I thought it would go great with the tomato and tortellini so I wrote out my ideas and went to work.

We ended up with a light, but satisfying soup that made everyone happy! It's great by itself of with some crusty bread to soak up all the tomato-y goodness.

It was just as tasty the next day but it did thicken up a little overnight. If you'd prefer it thinner, add a little broth or water and it will still be just as good.

Fire Roasted Tomato and Chicken Soup with Cheese Tortellini Ingredients • 2 chicken breasts  • 2 lg carrots, sliced • 2 stalks celery, sliced • 1 sm onion, chopped • 3 garlic cloves • 2 TB canola oil • 6 c chicken broth • 2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained • 1/2 tsp dried basil • 1 tsp dried oregano • 1 TB dried parsley • 1/2 lb fresh cheese-filled tortellini Directions 1. Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. (If they start to get too brown, turn the heat down.) Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. 2. Add chicken, carrots, celery, broth, tomatoes and herbs. 3. Simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour. Shred chicken and simmer for another 30 minutes. 4. Bring to a boil. Add tortellini and return to boil. Cook according to package directions, about 8-10 minutes. 5. Season with salt and pepper.