Tomato Tortellini Soup

This is one of my 4-year-old daughter's favorite meals. I adapted this recipe from one I saw in Taste of Home a couple of years ago. It combines two of her favorite foods: cheese-stuffed noodles and tomato soup (or as my kids call it, "red soup"). It is easy and packed with flavor. I envy those who are able to can their own homemade tomato soup because that would be delicious in this dish (and make it a bit healthier)! My family of four will easily go through one pot of this soup, and if you'd like lots of leftovers you can double to make a nice big batch!

Tomato Tortellini Soup


9 oz. package cheese tortellini
2 cans condensed tomato soup (I use the Campbell's Healthy Request brand for less sodium)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup half and half
3 cups low fat milk
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

Cook the tortellini according to package directions. While the noodles are boiling away, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large soup pot over low-medium heat. Drain the tortellini and add to the rest of the soup ingredients. Cook until heated through. Serve as is, or it's also really good topped with a little shredded parmesean cheese.

Menu Plan: Week of 7/11/11

Back to "formal" menu planning - hooray! Pretty simple menu plan for us this week, as hubby will have a busy week at work and may be working late some evenings. Plus, I'm trying not to use the oven much to keep the house a bit cooler. Here is what we have planned:

Breakfasts:
Cereal and fruit
Scrambled eggs and toast
Yogurt
Whole Wheat Muffins and fruit

Lunches:
PB&J, carrot sticks, yogurt
Mac and Cheese, grapes
Pita chips and hummus, fruit
Poor Man's Pizza, carrot sticks, fruit
leftovers

Suppers:
Monday: Veggie/Black Bean Burgers (from the freezer), pasta salad, fruit salad
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Angel Chicken, lettuce salad, green beans
Wednesday: Daughter's first night of T-Ball so we'll be eating out afterwards or home for leftovers
Thursday: Dijon Chicken Breasts (new recipe), sweet potato fries, lettuce salad
Friday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, fruit salad
Sat and Sun: ?? (I'm not really planning much on the weekends anymore during summertime!)

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Settled in.

Yes, it's really a month between posts now. We are settled in to our new home and, thank God, we are now the proud owners of only ONE home as we closed on the sale of our beloved little St. Paul home on June 30th. We adore our new neighborhood, larger house, spacious backyard, and all of the niceties of suburban living. Who knew that having an attached garage and a driveway would make a girl so happy? While I loved living in the heart of a large city for nearly ten years, I do not miss the city bus barreling by my house starting at 5am every day or the near-hourly police/ambulance/fire sirens. Out here, it is quiet. It is peaceful. I have turkeys meandering through my backyard. My children have a quiet and safe street to play on. Our neighbors actually come out of their homes to talk to us. All of this is new to us - and we love it!

I am also a bit more settled in in the kitchen, too. Tonight I made a family favorite that I hadn't made in ages - Tomato Tortellini Soup with a
Caesar salad. I'll post the soup recipe soon! We are going to try do some painting this weekend, too, if my hubby has the time. My daughter has requested a light pink room, we will paint one wall in my son's room a dark blue, and then paint the baby's room a very light blue (no, we don't know the gender of the baby but I think a light blue will be pretty and calming either way!)

I started menu planning again a couple of weeks ago, too, so I will begin posting those on Mondays again, too. Blogging life will be back to normal - at least for two months until baby #3 arrives!

Update

Has it really been a month and a half since my last post? Wow, I'm sorry. But here's an update:

1. We moved into our new home on May 14th. It was a cold, crazy, rainy day but we got the job done. We LOVE our new home, new city and new neighborhood. We are "settled" but no where near organized. I think that will take another year.
2. We finally sold our other home and will close on that home on June 30th!
3. I'm nearly 24 weeks along already with baby #3!! I feel great, other than still pretty tired. But I blame the tiredness on the fact that I have a very active 4-year-old and 2-year-old to chase after in addition to (already) being hugely pregnant. Really, I'm so big that I think I may have a 13 pound baby...

I am looking forward to posting more again ( and hopefully more regularly ) soon. Recipes, household stuff, menu planning...I miss all of that stuff since we've been moving and getting settled. Look for more to come soon!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of 4/25/11

Talk about sporadic blog posts. Packing to move into a new house in three weeks, trying to sell our current house, a low-energy-want-to-sleep-all-the-time pregnancy while chasing after two kids, and planning and celebrating a 4-year-old's birthday has led to very little time (or desire, to be real truthful) to blog. But I hate entering the week without a meal plan, so sitting down and writing it out on my blog today actually helped me make one for this week. We have some delicious ham and mashed potatoes left over from Easter dinner yesterday, so we'll be using that up throughout the week. I'm also trying to dig into the freezer to use up some food before we move. Here's our plan:


Breakfasts:
Ham and cheese omelets, toast
cold cereal, toast
Whole Wheat Muffins, bananas
Oatmeal, raisins

Lunches:
Ravioli with marinara sauce (I just whipped up today a can each of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste, and added some garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and a little brown sugar = a quick and easy pasta sauce), orange slices
Turkey sandwiches, cottage cheese, carrot sticks
leftover pizza, apple slices
Mac and cheese, green beans

Suppers:
Monday: hubby working late - soup and sandwiches for me and the kids

Tuesday: pizza party fundraiser for my son's Early Childhood Education school

Wednesday: Cheesy Ham and Pasta Bake, mixed vegetables, lettuce salad, orange slices

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: Cheddar Ranch Burgers (new recipe), potato patties (made from leftover mashed potatoes from Easter), peas

Saturday: Baked Ziti (from the freezer), lettuce salad, carrots

Sunday: leftovers

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan: Week of 4/4/11

I have been half-hazardly menu planning since our decision to sell our house. Boxes everywhere + cleaning + an attempt to de-clutter = my desire to fly by the seat of my pants a bit with our meals. On that note, it's no surprise that we ate out a lot and ate a lot of unhealthy foods during this time. So, back to it. I'm trying to use up some foods we have in the freezer and pantry so there isn't much shopping this week. Here's what we have planned:

Breakfasts:
Applesauce bread
Oatmeal, bananas
Cold cereal, toast
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes (leftover from Sunday)

Lunches:
Tomato Soup and grilled cheese, apple slices
Hummus, pita chips, carrot sticks
Chicken strips, cottage cheese, oranges
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, peas, fruit salad
leftovers

Suppers:
Monday: Turkey Noodle Casserole (using leftover frozen turkey)
Tuesday: Tilapia, brown rice, peas
Wednesday: Sticky Chicken in the Crockpot, mashed potatoes, gravy (this will be my first time ever attempting homemade gravy - pray for me.), green beans
Thursday: Chicken Noodle Soup (using leftover chicken and broth from Wed.), grilled cheese, fruit salad
Friday - Sun.: in-laws are in town so it's up to the husband and probably out to eat a couple of times

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for menu planning ideas!

I'm back!

The house is officially on the market. The market is slow, but we are praying that showings and interest will pick up when the warmer weather starts (hopefully!) soon. My patience and energy have really been challenged by trying to keep a house "show-ready" (clean, picked up, ready for someone to see at a moment's notice) with a 2-year-old and 3-year-old. The following sentence actually came out of my mouth the other day, as I told my husband: "I would rather take the bar exam again than try to sell a house with a toddler and a preschooler." I have NEVER said that about anything, so you know I'm a little stressed. (Granted, I think that a bit of an exaggeration on my part.)

Plus, throw the following into the mix - I'm pregnant with Baby #3! We are due in late September and couldn't be happier. So not only am I keeping a house "show-ready" with two little ones, I am doing so with the energy level of a sloth.

But I am feeling better these days and there isn't much more to do with the house other than WAIT. So I'm back, ready to blog about some stuff in the coming weeks. It's good to be back!