Monday Meal Planning - From Our Kitchen Edition

No, I'm not dead. Just dealing with the end of the project year for many of my projects at work, which means 15-hour work days and writing final reports. That is so much writing that I just couldn't bring myself to sit at the computer and write more for this site. But! The end of the project year is on Tuesday, and so almost everything is done and life can get back to normal. It has been a long couple of weeks, that's for sure.

Anyway, this week I'm in the mood for comfort food, which means several of my mom's recipes, one of Aaron's, and a couple of mine. I'm going to add one a day, so that the post isn't too overwhelmingly long. I hope you enjoy these dishes as much as we do!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

This recipe is mine, and is sort of just my fancier version of chicken noodle; fancier only because I use tortellini instead of egg noodles, and float a parmesan toast on the top. As written, this is a very chunky soup, just the way Aaron likes it. If you're watching your grocery budget, using one chicken breast half is plenty. If you want lots of leftovers, add another quart of chicken broth. It's also good if you add a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all, and substitute oregano for the thyme.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. sliced celery
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 sprigs of thyme
1-2 bay leaves
1 quart chicken broth
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
1 package fresh tortellini
1 loaf French bread (baguette)
butter
shredded parmesan

1. In a soup pot, add olive oil and heat to shimmering over medium-high heat. Add in vegetables and herbs; salt and pepper to taste. Sautee until the onions are translucent and nothing has browned too much; about 5 minutes.

2. Add in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Gently add in chicken, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked through and vegetables are tender.

3. In the meantime, cook tortellini according to package instructions.

4. Remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool until you can easily handle it. Remove bay leaves and thyme now (it's easier to find them now than when there are a lot of chicken chunks in there). Tear the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Return the chicken to the pot and heat through.

5. For parmesan toasts: Heat broiler. Cut several 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices of bread (about 2 per person) and place on a cookie sheet. Toast the bread under the broiler until it starts to brown; about 1 or two minutes. Butter the opposite side of the bread slices, and put onto the cookie sheet butter side up. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and broil for a minute or two until the bread is turning golden brown and the cheese has melted.

6. To serve, place several tortellini in a soup bowl. Ladle soup over top, and float a toast or two on top of the soup. Enjoy!