Tortellini Soup

This is a delicious recipe I got from Kim!   Thanks for sharing it!  We love it and I am always sad when it is gone.

Ingredients:
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 - 13 ounce cans Beef broth
3 carrots sliced
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounce)
1 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Oregano
1 Cup zucchini
4 T. fresh parsley
1 green pepper (diced)
1 Cup water
1/2 cup apple juice
Tortellini - 8 ounces

Directions:
Cook Sausage and add onion and minced garlic.  Then add remaining ingredients except tortellinis.  Let simmer for 30-40 minutes on low.  Add tortellinis 5-10 minutes before you are ready to serve it.

Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

I am simmering this as I post and my kids are begging for more.  I had them sample it and their mouths are watering!  This recipe is from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth (I used chicken stock concentrate)
2 Cups cooked wild rice (the grocery store was out of bags of wild rice?  So I bought the Uncle Ben's wild rice that cooks in the microwave in 1 minute.  Made it very simple)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed
1/2 tsp. salt (I didn't add this)
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds (I didn't add this)
3 T. dried sherry (I used 3 T orange juice)
2 cups half-and-half  (I used 1c. fat free)

Melt butter in a large sauce pan saute onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and saute for 2 more minutes.  Turn heat down to simmer and slowly add flour and whisk briskly until all flour is added.  Slowly add broth, stirring constantly until all is added. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next add the rice, chicken, and salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper, almonds and sherry.  Allow to heat through at a low to medium heat.  Then add half-and-half and stir well.  Let simmer for 1-2 hours.  (Note: DO NOT BOIL or your roux will break.)

Yummy Lowfat Chili

I found this a couple of years ago when searching online for "yummy chili." This is a Weight Watchers recipe.  It says one serving is 2 points and the serving size is 1 cup.

1 lb. of 93% lean ground beef
1 can kidney beans
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can corn (We like white shoepeg corn.  It is crunchier gives a nice texture)
1 - 4 ounce can chopped green chilis
1 can fat free Refried beans
1 - 15 ounce can chopped-diced tomatoes
1 - 16 ounce can tomato sauce
1 large onion
1 cup water (I don't always add this....we like our chili thick.)
1 package taco seasoning
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch DRESSING mix (NOT buttermilk one)

Directions:
Chop onion and brown ground beef.  Add the rest of the ingredients (DO NOT DRAIN ANYTHING)
Bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer for 15 minutes.  ENJOY!

Prep time -10 minutes  Cook time - 25 minutes    Serves - 8 to 10

White Chicken Chili

4 Cups Northern Beans (I used 5 cups)
2 lbs Chicken Cubed (I used 3 small breasts and cubed them while they were defrosting - makes it a lot easier)
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (I use Chicken stock concentrate)
1 medium onion chopped
2 - 4 oz cans green chilis
2 T. cumin
1 1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 Cups Cream

Put it all in crock pot together on low for 6-8 hours.  SOOOOOOO YUMMY!  I doubled this and froze half of it.  When we defrosted it I added another can of beans and the green chilis.  I didn't add the chilis the first time because I was afraid it would be too spicy for our kids but it wasn't even spicy once I added them, just added a great flavor.