Feel Better Soup

     It is that time of year when somebody (or everybody, like us this past week!) in your family will get a cold.  I have the perfect (quick, easy and delicious) soup for that!  I got the recipe from watching "Rachel Ray".  I have made it for several years for my family.  It is a favorite, sick day or not.  My boys always get so excited when I make it.  The original name by R.R. is "Tortellini Brodo", but I just call it "Feel Better Soup".  It really is the perfect thing to eat with a cold: chicken broth to help your cold, lemon zest tastes so refreshing when you can't taste much else, lots of good vitamins in the spinach, the comfort of pasta and protein from the cheese.  Like most of Rachel Ray's recipes, there are no exact measurements.  This is what I have found works best for us (for 4 people):

2 cartons (not cans) of chicken broth

2 small packages of Butoni 3-cheese tortellini

1 small bag spinach (cut or torn into smaller pieces)

zest of 1 lemon (save the lemon for later with some hot tea!)

fresh grated parmesan (to taste)

Bring the broth to a low boil, put in the tortellini.  Cook for about 7 minutes until the pasta resembles fluffy pillows like this:

Now comes the really fun (and oh, so pretty) part!  Ladle the pasta and tortellini into bowls.  Top with a small handful of spinach (this will "wilt" as it is mixed into the soup), parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of lemon zest.  The amount of all these toppings can be determined be the person eating it. 

Doesn't this look YUMMY?!

I even made this soup two days in a row this week...with absolutely no complaints (or leftovers!)  I hope this recipe can help you and your family next time somebody gets a cold!  :)

Blessings,

Letha