Three Cheese Tortellini Soup

Last night I made Cheese Tortellini Soup with chicken for Matt and I. It came out delicious! I've only made this once prior (which was amazing, as well) so I knew that my second time would be just as good. We usually eat off the soup for about two days (noticing a trend? For some reason it's hard for me to make meals just for two people) This recipe could be used with or without chicken, but to me, I think it taste good with the chicken.

Prep time: 40 minutes (this is just for cooking the meat)
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Serving size: 6 bowls

• 2 chicken breast on bone
• 1 box of Buitoni three cheese tortellini 20 oz. (find this in the refrigerator section and they also have whole wheat three cheese available if you want a more healthier meal)
• Pepper
• Celery (about 5 celery sticks)*
• Carrots (about 3 large carrots)*
• 2 Swanson Chicken Broth carton 32 oz.

*You can always add more if you want more vegetables within the soup. 

First, start out by putting your chicken breast in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Set your timer for 40 minutes to cook.While your chicken is cooking, you can use this time to prepare everything else that is needed for this meal. 

Pour the 2 Swanson Chicken Broth Cartons into a large pot. Put the burner on a simmer.
Add a generous amount of pepper. You may also add any other seasonings that you think will work well, perhaps, basil?

Now that the chicken is still cooking and the broth is going on a simmer, the next step will be the tortellini. Start boiling some water, then add the three cheese tortellini. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
When the tortellini are finished, go ahead and drain and then add to the broth mixture.

(kind of reminds me of Wonton soup, ha ha.)

During the time when the tortellini is cooking or after you add it to the broth, slice up the carrots and celery into small chunks and either A.) steam them for 15 minutes by adding a small amount of water to the pan and covering it with a lid. OR  B.) put the celery and carrots into a plastic bag or microwave bag and set the microwave for about 4 minutes to make them soft.

Once the celery and carrots are finished from which ever option was chosen, go ahead and drop them into the chicken broth.

The chicken should be finished now or almost finished. When the chicken is done, take it out of the pot and place it on a plate to let it cool for about 5 minutes before shredding it.

Once you think the chicken is cooled down enough for you to shred it, go ahead and take the chicken off the bone and then shred into pieces by pulling it apart with your hands and put the chicken into the broth mixture. 

Now that all the ingredients are in the large pot, stir around occasionally and let it cook on a low heat or simmer for 15-20 minutes. You will also notice that the noodles have probably expanded more, but that's a good thing because now you know they are well cooked and will be soft when it comes time to eating.

When the time is up or 20 minutes have passed by, it's more than likely finished since you had the pot going the entire time when the chicken was cooking. Go ahead and turn of the burner and serve. But most importantly, enjoy.