Tortellini Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest and have made it twice in the past week!  I am so loving it.  I was craving something warm and full of vegetables as the weather has started to turn a little cool.  This was exactly what I had in mind.  Tonight, I made it with these Parmesan Knots, which were SO EASY and totally delicious!

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
5 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 t. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 t. salt
8-9 oz. fresh or frozen tortellini (cheese or meat filled)
2-3 T. chopped fresh parsley
Black Pepper to taste
*I also added a few cloves of garlic (because seriously what is tortellini soup without garlic?!) and some celery that was hanging out in our fridge.

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot or large saucepan.  Add the onion, zucchini, and carrot (and garlic/celery, if desired).  Saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt to the pot.  Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil.  Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to alow boil.  Cook it for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes longer.  Gently stir in the parsley and pepper during the last minute or so. 

Makes about 5 servings.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

I tend to make pancakes about half of the days of the week. I keep oatmeal pancake mix in the fridge and all I have to do in the morning is mix in an egg and buttermilk and cook them up. I love the idea of the kids eating whole wheat, but not of processed store syrup. So I've been making my own syrup and storing it in the fridge and just warming it the morning of. Normally, I do a vanilla syrup but it has corn syrup in it. I love that this syrup has no corn syrup in it. It is so good we dipped apples in it and basically found any excuse we could to put it on something.


Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan, bring buttermilk, sugars, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. It will bubble up a lot. Hopefully you used a large saucepan like I told you. As it cools, the bubbles will go away.

*Notes:

-The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter. I cut back to 1/4 cup to save my waistline and my husband’s cholesterol, but you can feel free to use all of it if you so desire. I won’t stand in your way.

http://www.creationsbykara.com/2011/02/buttermilk-caramel-syrup.html