Super Easy Italian Tortellini Soup

I have made this recipe a few times now and each time my family just loves it.  It is so easy I almost feel guilty.. LOL.. well not really ;) 

I buy cheese filled tortellini noodles from Costco.  I am sure they are sold in other grocery stores too.  But they are a little over $4 a bag at Costco and that is enough to make this recipe at least 3 to 4 times.  Other than the noodles you will need 1 pound of hamburger, 4 cups of beef broth (veggie broth will work too and if you don’t have a stash of broth in the freezer this recipe is a good reason to start!  But you can also buy it in a can, although not as healthy or you can sub 4 cups of water and a couple bouillon cubes), a tablespoon of Italian seasonings, and a jar of spaghetti sauce (I used one of my home canned quarts of spaghetti sauce, but you can also buy a jar at the store or make your own )… 

Start by cooking up your hamburger in a soup pot….

While this is cooking you need to get some water boiling to cook up the tortellini noodles.  You will need about 4 to 4 ½ cups of dry noodles.  When they are done cooking drain them and add them to the hamburger.  Add the beef broth, spaghetti sauce and about 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings and you are done!

The last time I made this I served it with these totally awesome dinner rolls. ..

Scrumptious Dinner Rolls
I have shared for awhile now how much my family loves my oatmeal dinner rolls. But sometimes I enjoy a change of pace and like try something different. I wanted a simple basic dinner roll recipe that tasted delicious. I think I have a new favorite!

1 cup milk
¼ c. Sucanat or brown sugar
3T butter
1t. salt
2t. yeast
1/3 c. warm water
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ - 2 cups white flour
2 eggs

In a saucepan combine milk, Sucanat (or brown sugar), butter and salt. Heat this up until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Take off burner and cool. I was in a hurry the day I made these and I put the pan into my sink which had cold water in it. It cools down pretty fast this so don’t leave it in there too long. You want the milk mixture to be a little hotter than baby’s bath water.

While the milk mixture is cooling down, put the warm water and yeast into your mixer bowl. Let the yeast dissolve and get a bit foamy. The temperature of this water also needs to be a little hotter than baby’s bath water.

When the milk mixture has cooled to the proper temperature add it to the yeast mixture in the mixer bowl and mix them up for a few seconds. Add the 3 cups of wheat flour and the eggs. Mix this well. Now add white flour until the mixture does not stick to the sides of the mixing bowl. You want your dough to be a little sticky, but you don’t want it so sticky it is still on the sides of mixer bowl.

Knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes in a Kitchen Aid type mixer and about 4 minutes in a Bosch. Cover with a towel or the lid (for the Bosch) and let it rise for 1 hour.

Turn the mixer on to punch down the dough and let it mix for a bit. Take the dough out of the mixer and divide it into 12 pieces. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and put it in the pan. Let the rolls rise until they have doubled in size; about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When they are done rising, bake them at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes. When they come out of the oven rub some butter over the tops of the hot rolls. Enjoy these rolls with some homemade soup or stew!