Italian Tortellini Soup

Italian Tortellini SoupFlorida doesn’t have much in the way of winter, but there are a few weeks when a nice, hearty soup makes a great dinner. This was fast to throw together and everyone ate it up. I adapted this from SparklePeople. You could use hot Italian Sausage for a spicier version.

Italian Tortellini Soup

MealsWeLike.com adapted from FoodieWife on SparkPeople
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 package Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage casings removed
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 can 14-1/2 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 package cheese and meat tortellini
  • 1 package 9 oz fresh baby spinach
  • 2 tsp minced fresh basil or 3/4 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven over medium-high heat
  • Add the onion.
  • Cook stirring now and then until meat is no longer pink.
  • Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes
  • Add the broth and tomatoes.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Stir in tortellini; return to a boil.
  • Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the spinach, basil, peppers.
  • Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.
  • Serve topped with Parmesan.

 

Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

No photo…it was devoured too fast! Our son made these at school and brought home the recipe. We wanted to save it for next year, so here it is. Looks like it was adapted from this Cooks.com post.

Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

MealsWeLike.com adapted from Cooks.com
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 5 loaves

Ingredients
  

  • 3 c all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbs plus 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 c sugar
  • 1 can 15 ounces pumpkin
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 c vegetable oil
  • 1/2 c orange juice
  • 1 c fresh cranberries

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Grease and flour 5-6 mini (5X3-inch) loaf pans.
  • Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
  • Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl
  • Beat until just blended.
  • Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture
  • Stir just until moistened.
  • Fold in cranberries.
  • Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.
  • Bake for 50to 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes
  • Move to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Orange Chicken and Vegetables

Orange Chicken and Vegetables

With nut allergies, Chinese restaurants are not somewhere we can go as a family. So when I find recipes that can be made relatively easily at home, I like to try them out. This recipe came from Mommy’s Kitchen, who adapted it from Jamie Cooks. It doesn’t take the long to make, and is really good. The chicken pieces are nice and crisp. There’s quite a bit of sauce, you could reduce the volume a bit if you didn’t like so much sauce.Orange Chicken with Vegetables

Orange Chicken and Vegetables

MealsWeLike.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients
  

For the chicken and vegetables

  • 4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1in pieces
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 cups baby carrots sliced lengthwise
  • 1 Onion diced
  • 2 Bell peppers--try different colors--cut into chunks
  • 4 stalks celery sliced
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

For the sauce

  • 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbs corn starch
  • 1 cup chicken broth

Instructions
 

  • If serving over rice, start the rice.
  • Combine the chopped chicken with the 3/4 cup flour and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl.
  • Toss to coat the chicken.
  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok.
  • Cook the chicken in batches, until golden brown (about 10 minutes) and set aside.
  • Add more oil if needed and then the chopped veggies.
  • Cook over medium high heat until crisp tender--about 5 minutes.
  • Make the sauce while the veggies cook.
  • Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • The sauce will begin to thicken as it comes to a boil.
  • Add the sauce and chicken back into the pan with the veggies and stir to mix everything together.
  • Serve over rice.