Frugal Tasty Tortellini Soup

Well we finally finished the tortellini soup I made on Sunday night at lunch today. Pretty good lunches for Hutch and I off of leftovers we had in the frig and freezer. If you've never had homemade tortellini soup now is the season to do so. It is super cheap and very filling.

I will walk you through this very simple process. I started  with a roasted chicken carcass, three chicken bouillon cubes, and a huge pot full of water. If you're squeamish about using the whole carcass, just pick all the meat off and put it in the pot. But I think the bones make the soup taste lots richer and you fish them out so they're generally not a problem. Let this bubble away for thirty minutes or so. Then add 2 cloves of garlic chopped, a handful of frozen stir-fry veggies [that's what I had in the freezer], a diced onion, a diced bell pepper, and a handful or two of dry three cheese tortellini [I got mine at Walmart]. Season with a tsp of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning herbs. Let it simmer away all day. At some point get the bones out if you used the whole carcass. That's it. OK here's what I did to make it last three days. After lunch the first day I let it cool and popped it in the frig. The next morning when I got up, I put it back on the stove with the eye set to the lowest setting. It was hot again by lunch.

You really can't mess this soup up. As long as you add the garlic and onion you could put just about any leftover veggie in it. I've made it with leftover beans, corn, and greens before and it is still yummy.If you like tomatoes just add a can of them diced.  Hope you'll give it a try. It sure will stretch a tight  food budget!!!