Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Basil/ Tortellini/ Bean Soup

Alrighty, so here is the first recipe! I wanted to start out with a super simple recipe for freezing. This style of prep I like to call, "measure and dump", because that is all you do, you measure out the ingredients and then you dump them into a ziplock freezer bag. There is no dicing or cooking involved at all. It would be easy to whip up a few batches of this at once.

This soup is wonderful. It has great flavor and can be used as is or you can add whatever you want to make it more. We usually just eat it as is because it is so good.

Basil/ Tortellini/ Bean Soup (Serves 6)

4 1/2 cups Chicken, vegetable or beef broth (if you are going to freeze this soup then add 5 bouillon cubes and then add 4 1/2 cups water on serving day. This saves you freezer space)

9 oz. frozen cheese tortellini

15 oz. white beans ,drained

14 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

1 Tablespoon Basil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 tsp. pepper


~Place all ingredients in ziplock bag. Seal.~


SERVING DIRECTIONS~ No need to thaw! Place in crockpot (add water if you used bouillon cubes) and cook on low for 4 hours. Don't overcook or your tortellini will be mushy, it will still taste good even if you do over cook it.


Variations: If you want to add more to this soup...GO FOR IT! You can add chicken, zucchini, spinach, carrots, whatever floats your boat. Oh, you can also top it with shredded Parmesan cheese :o)



Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

**Updated to answer a couple questions**
~If you want to add spinach just add it :o) It is going to be wilted in soup and it still tastes yummy. You can use fresh or frozen spinach in this recipe, they both freeze just fine.

~Whenever I make a soup that calls for stock I use bouillon cubes instead. Most soups call for 4-6 cups of bouillon. It is really hard to get that much liquid into a freezer bag and if you do get it all in there the bag is really big and takes up a lot of room in your freezer. One bouillon cube makes 1 cup of bouillon when you add the water. So if it calls for 4 cups bouillon I just add 4 bouillon cubes. Then on cooking day I add the 4 cups of water. Does that make sense?

9 comments:

Crafty Mom said...

That sounds delicious! Can't wait to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!

Carina said...

If you add spinach, would you just do so at the very end of cooking, so it doesn't get too wilted?

Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

It sounds delicious and I totally LOVE the measure and dump instructions. You rock!

Alesha said...

I am SO excited about your blog! This first recipe sounds like a real winner and we will be trying it soon.

Thanks so much for sharing with us your gift. It's definitely God-given and will be a ministry to us.

Can't wait to try this one!
Alesha

kristi said...

I think the term "measure and dump" could be carried into many areas of my life :) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry. I'm confused. If you are going to freeze it. You don't add any broth/water before freezing?

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I heard about you from my friend Cheryl. I freezer cook too. my blog is private but if you email me at djquigley@sbcglobal.net I will send you and invitation so you can visit me. I have been freezer cooking all week and posting the recipes on my blog. I look forward to sharing recipes with you.
Blessings,
Elizabeth

Niki said...

This recipe looks great. My daughter is expecting in a month or so, so your blog is perfectly timed! I love the bouillon cube tip.
Blessings,
Niki

kymk99 said...

Wow, this would be great to keep on hand for all those new moms we are going to have at our church soon. Thanks for sharing!

Yvonne :o)