Tortellini Soup and Homemade Butter!

I’m not sure what it’s like where you live, but it was cold here today! Rainy, and even some big fluffy snowflakes this morning, to which my son replied “Awesome, now I can go get on my snowsuit?!?” (The kid has been waiting for snow since last winter.)

We had a great day of school today and MFW has a fun homemade butter recipe that went well with the crummy weather that dictated the need for yummy bread today.

Homemade Butter:

• Fill a mason jar half full (or less) with heavy whipping cream (This is important as it doubles in size!)
• Gently shake it…

and shake it….

and shake it….

And then Mommy and Daddy took turns shaking it…the jar people, C’MON! And after a very LONG 15 minutes of shaking it, the jar was filled with a substance that appeared to be like marshmallow fluff, but didn’t taste quite as pleasant.

• Add some ‘salt to taste'(I think we did about 2 tsp), and shake it some more, and voila! Homemade butter!

Tortellini soup:

Now for the good part, I made tortellini soup for dinner! I wish I could take credit, but alas, I am not a great chef, however my mom is, and she made this for me after my 4th baby was born. (She came up and cooked for us weekly for quite awhile! Praise God for her!) So…I will share this recipe not because I am in any way awesome, but because this soup is!! And, in the words of Kung Fu Panda, “There is no charge for awesomeness!”

Here’s the recipe, try it tonight, you won’t be sorry!

My Mama’s Tortellini Soup:

6 links Sweet Italian Sausage
4 links German Sausage ( I don’t alwasy add this, but don’t skip the Italian Sausage!)
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T olive oil (for browning onion/garlic)
2 cans beef broth plus 2 cans water (fill broth cans with water after pouring in broth)
1 16oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 t Italian Seasoning
2 c sliced zucchini (I just use 2 small zucchini’s)
1 6oz can sliced black olives (drained)
1 pkg Cheese Tortellini (I use Buitoni in the refrigerator section)
1 c carrots diced (optional)
1 can kidney beans (optional, I don’t use these)
Grated Parmesan Cheese

In large sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat and brown sausage links whole.Add garlic and onion. After onion is tender and sausage are cooked, drain grease and slice sausage. In Sauce pan (I just use the same pan) add beef broth, water, sliced sausage, garlic/onion mixture, tomatoes (drained), Italian seasoning, carrots, zucchini and beans. Let simmer for 20 min or until 10 minutes before you are ready to eat. 10 prior to dinnertime add tortellini and olives. Cook until tortellini are tender, approx 8-10 min.

Serve with fresh Italian Garlic Bread (I use Roasted Garlic Italian Bread infused with whole cloves of garlic from King Soopers, it comes in a red and black bag if that helps) and butter, sprinkle top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!