Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach

It's getting cooler outside, and despite not liking it, I like the idea of all the food that comes with this next season (food is the best part of every season, am I right?). Though I'm not a huge soup eater unless the soup actually fills me up and doesn't leave me wanting to snack the rest of the evening, fall is pretty much the perfect time to start having soup.

This is a recipe I tried out last winter when we were doing yoga dinner nights with some friends. It actually does feel like you ate a meal after finishing it (woooo).  I adapted it from this recipe from BHG since I didn't feel like it had enough flavor--the smoked paprika is what really makes this a recipe I like. It was the very first recipe I pinned on Pinterest and I'm getting tired of scrolling down past alllllll the other things I've pinned now that I've got a substantial stock of recipes to try out, hence the blog post.

Without further ado:

Pic from BHG

Creamy Tortellini Soup with Spinach

4 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
2 c milk
2 c water
2 c chicken broth
1 8 oz package mushrooms sliced
1 small onion chopped (or half a large onion)
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 7 oz package dried tortellini
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
5 cups fresh baby spinach
shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Melt the butter in a big pot, add flour, and stir until smooth paste forms.  Add in all the liquids in their 2 c increments, stir until smooth.  Add in sliced mushrooms, chopped onion, and spices; add pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 mins then add dried tortellini.  Continue to simmer until the tortellini is cooked, about 20-30 mins. Add evaporated milk, simmer for 5 more mins.  Remove from heat, stir in spinach. Serve with shredded parmesan if desired.

If you want it thicker, add more flour at the beginning.  Also, next time I am going to try cream added at the beginning with the other liquids rather than evaporated milk at the end.