tortellini soup

Friends of ours just had their first baby (Hank!) on Sunday. So yesterday I, having cultivated quite the soup obsession, seized the opportunity to be neighborly, cook a little, and find an excuse to sneak in and meet the baby.

I saw a recipe for tortellini soup a few weeks ago, but when I looked it up again, it just didn't look appealing. I searched for a few more, but everything I found seemed just a little too simple, like they were missing something. I am all for simple recipes, but I also want to feel like I'm actually cooking, not just putting three things together in a pot.

I decided I would rather try and make up my own, which was more exciting anyway, and off to the grocery store I went. Here is what I came up with, and it may be my new favorite soup recipe. Still really easy but also incredibly delicious.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large leaves of red chard, roughly chopped
3/4 of a large white onion, diced
1 clove garlic
10 cups chicken broth (a lot, I know, but I might even add more next time because the tortellini absorbs so much)
1 17 oz. package of fresh tortellini (though I think frozen would work just as well)
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
olive oil
salt
ground pepper
garlic powder
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. freshly grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 375. Cover baking sheet with tin foil and drizzle with olive oil. Clean chicken and place on baking sheet. Drizzle more olive oil on top and cover with a pinch of salt and lots of pepper and garlic powder (that's about as specific as I get with measurements - my father is shaking his head mournfully right now). Place another sheet of tin foil on top of chicken and bake for about 35 minutes or until fully cooked.

2. Cover the bottom of a heavy soup pot (I use my Le Creuset dutch oven, which is my absolute favorite thing in the kitchen) with olive oil and heat on medium hear until oil is shimmering. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add chard and cook until slightly wilted. Add garlic and cook for one minute.

3. Add chicken broth. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

4. Using two forks, shred the chicken.

5. Open can of tomatoes and drain and then rinse them until they are no longer covered in sauce

6. Add tomatoes and chicken and bring entire pot to a boil for two minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes.

7. Add tortellini, basil, and parmesan and cook for another five minutes.

6. Serve immediately or keep over night - it's just as good the next day.