Tortellini soup

 I have no shame, and this soup is a result of a) being sick and knowing that I really wanted a brothy soup from staples and b) getting really offended at the back of the tortellini package.

 Like many people, I had a package of shelf stable tortellini rapidly approaching it's best-by date. And this recipe from Gimme Some Oven for Butternut Squash and Tortellini Soup crossed my radar. 

 In throwing that together on a Sunday afternoon, I read the back of the package. "Boil for 6 min and then drain, serve with your favorite pasta sauce."

Boil and drain? With sauce?? No mention of other methods? 

Tortellini are a soup dumpling. The previous recipe uses them exactly as designed. Americans do this whole thing where all pastas are made in the same rough method. And while I am American and do enjoy pasta with sauce, in this I'm pretty much a purist- tortellini belong in soup. 

By the way, I strongly recommend the butternut squash soup recipe. It also works Just Fine with a large can of pumpkin instead of processing a squash. It's the reason I had more tortellini in my pantry when I got sick a few weeks ago. 

So I pulled out strongly flavored things out of the pantry and fridge, threw them in the pot, and went "Take that, American manufacturers."

Simple Sausage and Tortellini Soup - 

• 1 lb italian sausage
• 8 c chicken stock
• 1 lb or 1 pkg dried or frozen tortellini
• 10-16oz frozen spinach
• 2 T pesto

In a large soup pot, fry up the sausage over medium high heat until cooked. Add the stock. Bring to a boil, add everything else. Cook for 10-15 min, until the tortellini are done. Eat.