Ask Cole what he wants for dinner and you will get one of two answers 95% of the time – Steak (Rare) or Tortellini.
His birthday dinner every year is Steak, risotto and broccoli. When picking out steaks at Fresh Market, he asked Christian why they even had to cook them. They looked so good in the display. As someone who never ate red met until I meet Christian (not even as a child), it is so weird to me that he loves it so much. To his disappointment, we do cook it.
His other favorite is tortellini. Maybe its the Sicilian blood in him?
Since Steak soup doesn’t sound good to me, I found a tortellini soup recipe that sounded good on another newly discovered yummy food blog! Click the image to take you to her website to do some exploring.
Today’s Soup: Chicken Tortelinni Soup
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal slices
4 cups celery, diced small
1-2 T. Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
4 quarts of chicken broth
16 ounces cheese tortellini (packaged in the refrigerator section at the store)
4-5 cups cooked shredded chicken
2-3 T. chicken bullion granules (or **Better Than Bullion)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Cheese to top
The recipe makes a lot, so I cut everything in half.
First I slow cooked 2 chicken breasts in my slow cooker with chicken broth, italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. This makes the perfect shredded chicken. After that I followed her directions. I sautéed the veggies, bay leaf, and italian seasoning until the veggies were soft. I then added the chicken broth and bullion cubes. I also added shelled soy beans. (I’m having a hard time getting my daily dose of protein since being pregnant requires so much. Every little bit helps!) Once this came to a boil, I added the tortellini. Once the tortellini were soft, I added the shredded chicken, salt and pepper. I let it all warm up and served. YUM! This recipe is a keeper. I can’t wait to have it for lunch this week and to cook it again!
While the chicken was in the slower cooker, I decided to tackle another Becoming Betty recipe – Banana Crumb Muffins.
While I was baking, I listened to my Paolo Nutini playlist. If you ask Cole, he will tell you that I have 4 boyfriends. Paolo Nutini just happens to be one of them. Christian is #1, of course, followed by Paolo, Mike Rowe, and Spiderman! Apparently I was distracted by my music choice because I realized I was following the wrong recipe after I mixed the butter, eggs, and sugar. Oops! I was following the recipe for Cinnamon Muffins. Although I’m sure the muffins are good, they are not what I meant to bake. They sound a little too sweet for my liking.
On to plan B – find another muffin/bread recipe that calls for at least 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter. This is what was already mixed in my bowl.
After looking over all the recipes on the Becoming Betty blog, I found a recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins. I had majority of the ingredients, so I wouldn’t have to make another trip to the grocery store.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbs. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
*Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add vanilla, banana, sour cream, nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
I didn’t have cocoa or sour cream. I ended up substituting Nestle Quik mix for the cocoa (same thing, no?). I also substituted organic yogurt with baking soda for the sour cream (For baking: 1 cup sour cream = 1 cup yogurt plus 1 tsp baking soda). I’m actually liking this substitute better than the sour cream. I’m keeping that bit of information handy for future recipes.
Even with mess up in the beginning and the substitutions along the way, the batter was looking yummy.
The muffins turned out great. Another yummy (better than store-bought) breakfast for the week!
And if you’d like to get distract while cooking, here is a little Paolo Nutini love to get you through your cooking adventures! Enjoy!
Kristy Maute 
With all of your yummy soups, I was craving some today so I sent Matt to the store so we could make soup for dinner tonight! You’re totally rubbing off on me!
Great photos…muffins look yummy…lets swap a bowl of jambalaya for one muffin!!
Paolo Nutini singing about “candy” I bet you were distracted…he is such a cutie!!
I have 4 muffins sitting on a plate waiting to come to your house. It made so many!
wow…. I totally get why Paolo is your number 2….
Amazing voice!
love paolo! love tortellini! saved the recipe when i saw your repin 🙂 connery is not as huge of a fan, so when cole wants tortellini and you don’t, send him my way 🙂 when i was deployed the chow hall did tri colored tortellini once a week. I ate it for lunch and dinner and usually requested they filled two sides of the tray instead of just one.