Adapted from Point of Grace
3T olive oil
2 good sized garlic cloves, finely minced (I use a garlic press)
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
5 oz pkg frozen spinach (I used pict sweet)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Just under 2 cans water
32 oz chicken broth
1 to 3 tsp chicken bouillon (add to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Family size package (3lbs) of cheese or chicken tortellini, half cooked (we used the four cheese tortellini from Costco)
2 lbs chicken, cooked and diced (I cook mine in the oven or crockpot with some chicken broth and pepper)
Put olive oil in the bottom of a large soup/stock pan. Over medium heat, saute garlic, celery, carrots and onions until tender. (I used freezer carrots from the garden. They were perfect and so good!)
Add the half package of frozen spinach. Break up blocks of spinach as you cook. Continue to saute until spinach thaws, then heats up. Add cream of chicken soup and water (I use the leftover chicken juices from cooking and one tsp of chicken bouillon). Add chicken broth and bring to a low broil. Add chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper to taste. Don't over do it because all the flavors will merry nicely when the noodles and chicken are added, but you don't want it too bland either.
In separate pot, bring 6 quarts of water and some salt to a low boil. Throw in noodles for about 1 minute. Using slotted spoon, remove noodles and put into soup mixture. Add chicken and stir. Remove from stove and allow to sit and warm up for a few minutes. It will warm up on its own if you had it at a nice low boil before you added the noodles. Don't leave it on the unit or you'll overcook the noodles. Serve and enjoy!
Note: I was actually surprised this recipe had cream of chicken soup as an ingredient. It is not an overriding flavor in the soup as it has plenty of liquids to dilute it. If you like gnocchi, this would be a fun soup to try with it instead of the tortellini.
