Chicken Tortellini Soup

This is my mom's version of an update to homemade chicken noodle soup. It is very forgiving and easily adaptable. You can cut the recipe in half, or even double or triple it. Adjust the veggies to suit what you have available or add more chicken or tortellini if desired. Just a simple and wholesome recipe!

Chicken Tortellini Soup
You will need:
Water
3 lbs. chicken (whole or pieces)
1 T chicken bullion
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1 large onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup peeled carrots (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
4 cups fresh spinach
2 pounds tortellini (boxed or frozen)

Cook the chicken. Generally I boil a whole chicken and try to re-use the water for my soup broth. It makes the broth a little fattier and cloudier, but ultimately tastier- so it's your call. Remove all the bones from the cooked chicken and set aside.

To make the soup, start with 4 quarts of water (or broth from cooking chicken) and bring to a boil. Add your bullion, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, carrots, celery (or other dense vegetables) and boil for 10-15 minutes. DO NOT add spinach yet. Once the veggies are relatively soft, add the tortellini and simmer another 5-10 minutes, adding the spinach and chicken just before the tortellini is cooked. Season additionally as needed and serve!

This soup is great with crusty bread and makes great leftovers because it is even more flavorful the next day.