Chicken Tortellini Soup

Many of my fondest memories of childhood go along with some sort of food, not because I am obsessed with food (although I am) its because many of my memories include sitting with my family and having dinner.  When I was old enough I loved to help my mom in the kitchen and sometimes dinner was up to me to make, so many of the recipes I post on here are ones that my mother has given me and I have tweaked for my liking.  This recipe usually has red peppers in it, and if you like them, please feel free to add it, I personally think that red and green peppers have too strong of a taste and that they over power everything they are put in, so I rarely use them in any dish.  This soup is easy to make and you can have leftovers for days...which is awesome because I can bring them to work and all my co-workers think I am some amazing cook (little do they know, this took no time at all.)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 Qt. Chicken Broth
1 Pkg. (9oz.) cheese filled tortellini (frozen)
1 (10 oz) pkg. Frozen Spinach, thawed
4 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 lb. Mushrooms, Sliced
1 C. cooked rice
2 tsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Oregano, chopped
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
1.   In a large stock pot bring the broth to a boil, over high heat.
2. Add tortellini and reduce heat.  Boil about 6 minutes, or until tender.
3.  Add Spinach, chicken, mushrooms, rice and spices to broth, and return to a boil.
4.  Once brought to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
5.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

Honestly the soup is so much better with the Parmesan cheese on top and it really makes the dish.  If you want to add red peppers to the soup seed and dice a medium sized pepper and add them when you add the spinach and chicken.  I can not say enough how great this dish is, especially in the middle of winter.   Please try this soup on a cold night and you will be hooked!

ENJOY!