Chicken Ravioli/Tortellini Soup

 

I have always made a lot of soup.  I grew up believing that you needed to use/eat and extend the foods that you have.  I would roast a chicken then if I wasn't going to make soup the next day I would stash the leftover carcass in the freezer.  Either way I could simmer it for several hours to create chicken stock.  Eventually I started freezing the chicken stock into ice cubes to use in my cooking.   I cook more chicken breasts than whole chickens now which means that I rarely have enough leftovers to make stock.  This change in my cooking has forced me to use boxed chicken broth and/or bouillon.  I always look for cartons that are low in sodium with no sugar added. If I have to choose I'd rather have no sugar.  

The problem I have with store bought stock is that it frequently lacks the true depth of flavor of my homemade stock.  To overcome this I add granulated onion and other herbs (or sauté ingredients in onion & herbs) depending on what flavor profile I'm aiming for.

You will need to determine your own proportions.  This is what I do:

• 2 boxes of chicken broth 
• 4 cups water and 4 tablespoons bouillon
• 1/2 cup granulated onion
• 2-3 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 refrigerated container of ravioli or tortellini (usually cheese filled)
• 1 small head of cabbage chopped
• Additional canned or frozen veggies such as peas & carrots
• Leftover chicken roughly chopped

Bring broth, water, bouillon and seasoning to a boil.  Add pasta and chopped cabbage.  Bring back to a boil and then simmer for the amount of time suggested on the package of pasta.  Two minutes before it is done add any other canned veggies (or microwaved frozen) along with the chopped chicken.   This makes a LOT of soup.  You could cut it in half if you can find a smaller container of pasta.  I have made a smaller batch using 2 cups of the dried ravioli (1 cup dried to 1 box broth).   From start to finish this usually takes about 20 minutes.