Recipe of the Week..."Tortellino Soup" and a Winter Weather Update...More Snow is Coming!

What a crazy week it's been! Most folks are still snowed in, schools remain closed, and many businesses are still closed due to the terrible road conditions. More snow is on the way today, (forecasters are predicting 1 to 4 inches today); we have a 60% chance of more snow on Sunday; and a 40% chance (for now) of even more snow next Wednesday! At this rate it may be June before everyone can dig out and all of the snow drifts are gone - ha! ha!

The sun did come out on Wednesday, but the temps remained in the single digits with negative windchill factors. Here are a couple of pictures that Mike took of the front of our house/yard blanketed in snow:

As promised earlier this week, here's the recipe for yummy "Tortellino Soup". The original recipe was given to me many years ago by the media specialist at one of our elementary schools, where I used to work as a secretary.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (I use Italian stewed tomatoes and squish up them up so I don't have big clumps floating around in the soup)
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 7 oz. cheese filled tortellini (I used spinach, cheese filled tortellini for this batch of soup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup mild picante sauce
• 1 tsp. basil
• 3 cans beef broth
• Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over soup

Method:
In large soup pot cook onion, garlic and pepper in olive oil until tender. Add broth, tomatoes, picante and basil. Bring to a boil and stir in tortellini. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with hot home-made bread or rolls and a side salad if desired! A great, spicy soup to warm you up on a cold day or to serve when you've got a head cold! Yummm!

My Variation:
Most of the time I use chicken broth in lieu of beef broth and add about a cup or two of shredded chicken to the soup. In all honesty the chicken version is my family's favorite, but the original version, (which is what is shown in the photo), is delicious as well!

Take care and stay warm!