Tortellini Soup and Grape Salad

 

TORTELLINI SOUP, creamy, slow cooker

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (500 g) ground Italian sausage (or ground chicken, turkey or beef), browned*
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder (or chicken)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups beef broth (or chicken or vegetable broth -- I use low sodium)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed and dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 36 ounces evaporated milk or half and half
• 12 ounce packet three cheese tortellini (I used dried not fresh; choose any flavor you like)
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place the browned sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, beef bouillon powder, salt, and broth in a 6-quart / liter slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours
• Uncover and skim any fat that is sitting on the top of the soup with a spoon; discard. Stir in the cornstarch mixture with the evaporated milk (or half and half or cream). Add the tortellini and mix well. Cover again and cook on HIGH heat setting for a further 45 minutes until the soup has thickened, and the tortellini is soft and cooked through.
• Add in the spinach, pressing the leaves down to completely submerse into the liquid. Cover again for a further 5-10 minutes until the leaves have wilted.
• Pour in milk in 1/3 cup increments, as needed, to reach your desired thickness and consistency (I needed 1 cup); taste test and season with extra salt ONLY if needed, and pepper to suit your tastes.
• Serve with crusty warmed bread

NOTES

*Italian sausage gives this soup an amazing flavour, but you can substitute it with ground chicken, turkey or beef sausage. OR use plain ground meats if you don't like sausage. For vegetarian options, leave the meat out all together.

The soup thickens as it cools and absorbs quite a lot of liquid. Extra milk may be needed when reheating leftovers to reach your desired level of creaminess.

 Grape Salad

 

This is one of my favorite recipes handed down from my great aunt. It is simple to make and looks very pretty for the holidays or any type of shower - baby shower, wedding shower or even housewarming party. This recipe will serve several, but for the holidays when I know there will be more than 10 people, I double the recipe. Hope you enjoy!!

By Andrea5775

Prep:15 mins Additional:30 mins Total:45 mins Servings:10Yield:10 servings

posted by Beth 2021

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream 
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 
• 1 cup white sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1 individual package graham crackers, crushed 
• 4 cups seedless green grapes 
• 4 cups seedless red grapes 
• ¼ cup brown sugar 

Directions

• Step 1 Beat the sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer on Low speed until smooth. Spread enough graham cracker crumbs to cover the bottom into a glass serving bowl, and top with about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a layer. Spread green grapes, then red grapes over the cheese filling. Save a few green and red grapes for a garnish. Repeat the layers several more times, ending with a layer of cream cheese filling. Garnish the top of the salad with sprinkled brown sugar and the reserved grapes.
  
  Step 2 Cover the salad with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly cold, 30 minutes to 1 hour.