Tortellini Soup

Source: My mom, Peggy Elwood (but I think she got it from a Quick Cooking magazine back in the day?)

Ingredients:
4 cups Beef ‘n’ Bean Starter (recipe below)
2- 14.5 oz. cans beef broth (I've been known to stretch soup recipes by adding more water on top of the required broth - last time I made this I added 6 cups of water + 4 tsp beef bouillon granules instead of the canned broth; it's very forgiving, so just do what you think's best)
2 cups broccoli, chopped
a few peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup (or more) cheese tortellini, frozen or dried
Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine first five ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables and tortellini are tender.  I usually make it in the crock pot - if I'm making the starter fresh, then I'll let it cook for 3-4 hours on high, then I'll add the rest of the soup ingredients except the pasta and cook it on low for another 3-4 hours, adding the tortellini for the last hour or less; if I'm making soup from frozen starter, I'll just add everything (minus the pasta) and cook on high for 4-6 hours, with the tortellini added at the end.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired. Makes 8 servings.


Beef ‘n’ Bean Starter
2 ½ lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2- 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onions, undrained
1- 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1- 15.5 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, diced in large pieces
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours (or high for 3-4 hours) or until beef is tender. Cool. Transfer to two freezer bags or containers, 4 cups in each. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Yields 8 cups.

Notes: This is just one of my favorite winter-time soup recipes.  And it's so yummy with breadsticks to dunk in it.  I like that you can freeze half of the starter for a second batch of soup in the future, but if you've got a bigger group of mouths to feed, just use it all at once.

Also, it was fun to finally break out our "new" crock pot that Heather and Scott gave us for our wedding.  It works great!  :)