Yesterday was Mexican---today we head toward Italy as I attempt to offer up another of my Thanksgiving palette cleansers. Filled with chicken, beans, tomatoes, garlic, spinach and tortellini, this lightly creamy, one-bowl dinner soup is far from the flavors of turkey day leftovers and won't stress you out a bit, especially for those of us still suffering from holiday cooking burnout (although I really have no excuse since I didn't host it this year). But whatever the case, it's warm, it's comforting, and absolutely delicious, which makes it a perfect Tuesday night turn-to!

My family (minus one soupaphobe child) all love soup and I make it all year round, which means that even on steamy summer days you'll find us slurping up the hot liquid (and cranking up the air, of course!!) So glad that soup season is officially here now and I can freely post soups without worrying about the weirdness factor of sharing soup recipes in July!! So now that nights are chilly, what's better than sitting down to a big bowl of soup with maybe a crusty piece of bread on the side and calling it dinner? And what if that soup only entailed about a half hour of prep? Happy? Deliriously so? I know I am! Wait until you taste this--you'll be making it all winter long, it's just what you'll crave on a snowy winter night--a little bit broth-y, a little bit creamy, a little bit spicy, filled with stuff that's good for you and a whole lot yummy! Let's hear it for the return of soup season, yeah!!!

Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

Makes 4-6 servings

Prep Time:  20-25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (you could also use veggie broth, eliminate the chicken and keep this vegetarian if you like)
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
• One 15 ounce can cannelini (or any other bean you prefer), rinsed and drained
• 1 cup heavy cream (you can use fat-free if you like)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 pound cooked and shredded white meat chicken (you can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken or make your own by boiling a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in some salted water until cooked through)
• 9-10 ounces refrigerated tortellini (or use any pasta you prefer)
• 1 bag baby spinach (about 5 ounces)

The Recipe

1.  Place the butter into a large pot over medium heat and melt. Ad the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender, stirring often. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

2.  Add in the cooked chicken, tortellini and spinach and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes so that the tortellini get cooked and the broth thickens up. Serve immediately.

3. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheated.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic. I tinkered around with some of the proportions and omitted the tablespoon of Italian seasoning--feel free to tinker around with it yourself--it's that kind of a recipe.