[bigfootbob]

The wife and I spent Christmas alone like we do every year. We celebrate Christmas with our huge family a week earlier. That way our 4 daughters, 6 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren can do their thing at home on Christmas.

We made a roasted Turkey breast. Tons of leftovers and still even more on the carcass. I thought about making a big pot of Turkey stock, but your post has changed my mind. Now today instead, I’m going to make a big pot of soup.

That’s the fun part of making soup, it’s an adventure. Make it as adventurous as you like, it’s Soup.

FoodSaver makes microwaveable bags that have a folded bottom that makes it stand up so you can fill them with Soup, fold over the top, close it with a clothes pin and set the bag into the freezer until it sets, then vacuum seal. Never buy canned soup ever again.

[Liz]

Creamy Tortellini Soup
Comforting, cozy, and so yummy. Rich and creamy tomato
broth, cheesy tortellini, fresh spinach, and Italian sausage.

INGREDIENTS 1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage 1 small yellow onion, diced 2 celery stalks, diced 2 large carrots, peeled and diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed or chopped one 6-oz. can tomato paste 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 6–7 cups chicken broth 14 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini 2 cups half and half or heavy cream 1 handful chopped fresh spinach Parmesan and fresh parsley for serving

INSTRUCTIONS Cook sausage over medium-high, breaking up into little pieces. When sausage is mostly browned, add onion, celery and carrot, sauté 5 min til vegs are soft. Add the garlic, spices, and tomato paste; sauté for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.

Add wine and let it cook out for a few minutes. Stir the flour into the sausage and cook for 1 minute. It’ll be sticky and dry. Gradually add in the chicken broth, stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cream, then bring it to a low simmer. Add the tortellini and spinach. Cook just until tortellini is al dente, per package directions. Serve with fresh parsley and Parmesan and dunk with cheese bread.

[Bob434]

We like an occasional Campbell’s ch8cken noodle country style, maybe 4-5 times a year, but other than thatno bought soup, only home made.

One thing we been doing is saving pork and beef drippings for combination in chicken soup and beef soup- really adds a flavor punch to the soups. Nothing like,a,hot steaming bowl of soup on a cold day, along with home made bread. Our brother inlaw makes “glass bread” which is perfect soup bread- uses some old time grain flower- can’t remember name now- we ate like kings when they arrived for a month last fall- made fresh bread every day, couple of loaves as it would be gone quickly.