It's been a while and Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Hi Friends,  It's been a good while since I've posted anything, but since I'm stuck at home during this global pandemic, I thought I'd say what's been going on with me.  Since I last posted I sold the house I was living in, moved in to the basement of a family member, built a house and moved into the newly built house.  I've been living in my little blue house for about 4.5 years now and it's awesome.  The house I sold was a three bedroom over 100 year old house that was too big for me.  The house I built is a one bedroom less than 800 square feet that is perfect.

As for the pandemic, even though I live in a rural area, it's still crazy here.  Stores here are also out of toilet paper and a lot of other paper goods, so don't think we have it better than you city dwellers in that department.  I pray that we all make it through this time and come out better on the other side.  Let's all work together to physically distance ourselves to help lessen the spread of the virus.  Even if you're stuck at home, call, text, or email family or friends and keep your circle strong.

Anyway, here's my favorite soup recipe.

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t each garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder (or more to taste, or your favorite seasoning)
1 small or medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 carrots sliced or diced, fresh or frozen
1 potato, diced (optional)
1 small or medium zucchini or yellow squash, fresh or frozen, sliced or diced
1 can, 15 oz, diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 cup jar spaghetti sauce, your favorite
1 t of bullion of your choice if you are using water
2 to 4 cups water or broth of your choice
8 to 10 oz Fresh or frozen tortellini of your choice.
Spinach or kale, amount to your taste, fresh or frozen
Grated Parmesan cheese or your favorite cheese, for topping when served.

Into a pot add olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots, potato and squash.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add canned tomatoes,  tomato sauce, jarred spaghetti sauce and spices and combine well.  Add water or broth to your desired consistency of soup.  If using water you can add 1 teaspoon of bullion of your choice.  Don't add too much water or broth here if you don't like thin soup, you can always add a bit more AFTER the tortellini has cooked.  Bring to a boil and a add tortellini and cook for length of time suggested on package.  When there's two to three minutes of cooking time left for your tortellini, add the spinach or kale to allow it to cook the remainder of time.  Serve and top with your favorite cheese.
I love to make a big pot of this and save it for lunches and dinners.  It keeps in the fridge well and reheats perfectly.
I change up the vegetables according to what I have fresh or in the freezer.  I've even used frozen green beans and a bit of frozen corn too.  Great with a diced sweet potato as well.  Don't be afraid to make this recipe your own.