Turkey Tortellini Soup

You know those weeks when your brain just doesn’t work? This was one of those weeks for me. On my meal plan Thursday night we were supposed to have 3-Bean Turkey Chili  but late on Wednesday night (AFTER I had defrosted my ground turkey and was about to start browning it) I realized I had only bought half of the ingredients that I needed…doh! I worked a full 9 to 5 day and obviously came home to zero chili in the CrockPot. If that’s not an opportunity to get creative and build a new recipe I don’t know what is. From the ashes of my malfunctioning brain rose…. Turkey Tortellini Soup. I can’t even tell you how wonderful and comforting this soup is! It’s my new chicken noodle. Now when Chris and/or I are sick, this is what we’ll be making. This is the kind of soup where you can really use any veggies you have on hand (which is what I did). It was so quick, so easy and so delicious. I hope you enjoy!

Half an onion, chopped

One stem celery, thinly sliced

One clove (or more!) fresh garlic, chopped

Two handfuls of chopped mushrooms

1 lb ground turkey (we always buy the organic, hormone & antibiotic free kind)

A handful or two of shredded carrots

6 cups chicken broth

9 oz packet of (non-frozen) cheese tortellini (we used Buitoni’s 3 Cheese Fresh Tortellini)

Salt & Pepper

Ground Coriander Seed (I found that this flavor worked so well with the other ingredients, but you could really use any kind of seasoning, or none at all!)

Half a lemon

– In a bit of butter, saute the onion, celery, and garlic until soft. Add the mushrooms and carrots and saute for a few more minutes. Add the turkey and cook until browned. We left ours in big chunks, kind of like meatballs. Add the chicken broth and seasoning, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the tortellini, reduce the heat to medium and cook until done. 

Squeeze your lemon juice in there, to add some freshness to the flavor – although the soup wasn’t lemony-tasting, this made ALL THE DIFFERENCE to the flavor. At this point, I was going to add some fresh spinach to the party but I forgot. It would be SO GOOD with some wilted spinach, you should definitely add some to yours. Serve in bowls and grate some fresh parmesan on top.