Tortellini & Meatball Soup

After I posted a picture of the beginnings of this soup on Instagram the other day, a few of you asked for the recipe. I hadn't shared it yet because honestly, I wanted to make sure it didn't suck. 

You see, my Dad makes the best Tortellini & Meatball Soup ever in the whole wide world but I had misplaced his recipe not to mention that he doesn't use a Crock pot and let's face it, with two kids constantly underfoot that's about as much cooking as you'll see around these parts. 

What started out as a "I hope this tastes good recipe" very quickly became a "honey, you have to make this again recipe!" Not only is this soup is so hearty and tasty but it's also the perfect soup to start simmering in your Crock pot on a dreary, cold morning like we had earlier this week. 

What You'll Need: 

- 1 package 3-Cheese Tortellini (Buitoni, found in the dairy/fridge section)

- 32oz Vegetable Broth

- 16oz Chicken Broth

- 2c Water

- 1 package frozen Italian meatballs

- 6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2in rounds

- 4 celery stalks sliced into 1/2in pieces

- fresh Spinach leaves (optional)

- Parmesan cheese to garnish

- Black pepper to taste

(Even though I used "low sodium" broth, the meatballs add more than enough salt flavor to the soup so you will not need to season with salt)

What You'll Do:

- Pour your vegetable and chicken broth into your Crock pot along with 2 cups of water. Season with pepper. 

- Add in your carrots, celery and meatballs. Stir. 

- Set your Crock pot on high for four-five hours.  

- Forty-five minutes prior to serving, add in your tortellini

- 15 minutes prior to serving, turn down your Crockpot to "warm" or even "off" and stir in a handful of fresh Spinach leaves (optional)

Garnish with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and enjoy!