Crock-pots can be a woman’s best friend

Published 11:42 am Saturday, March 12, 2016

Tortellini Soup

By Amy Gauthier

Balance. If you’re anything like me, balance is a challenge. We have children to rouse, breakfast to serve and who can forget the never-ending search for that other mitten or winter boot on our way out the door? And that’s just the beginning.

Amy Gauthier is a mom, working and living in Albert Lea. She has lived in the city for two years and earlier this year became executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum.

Let’s not forget our professional challenges and events that require long hours away from home. So, this time of year, how do you balance time, nutrition and sanity in your everyday life?

Behold, the Crock-Pot. I’ll share one of my first and favorite Crock-Pot dishes with you today.

Slow-Cooker Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups diced carrots (3 medium)

1 3/4 cups diced yellow onion
(1 large)

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 (28 ounce) cans whole Roma tomatoes

1 (32 ounce) carton vegetable broth

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

16 ounce refrigerated three-cheese tortellini

3/4 cup heavy cream

Parmesan, shredded, for serving

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute longer. Pour mixture into a 6- or 7-quart slow cooker, along with tomatoes, vegetable broth, basil, bay leaves and sugar. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves then puree mixture well with an emulsion blender or carefully in small batches in a blender. If your slow cooker doesn’t keep all the moisture in well while cooking, you may need to add in 1/2 cup water or so at this point so the soup isn’t too thick. Stir in tortellini, cover and cook on high heat 15 minutes longer (or until heated through). Reduce heat to warm. Stir in heavy cream. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of delicious scoops of minced garlic we use in our culinary masterpieces.”