Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Tortellini Soup

SLOW COOKER LEMON CHICKEN TORTELLINI SOUP

I have a serious obsession with my slow cooker. It is my year round kitchen bestie. There’s nothing better than throwing dinner together when caffeine peaks in the morning and coming home to a completed meal and house scented with slow cooked goodness. An added bonus to slow cooking is coming home to a clean kitchen! You can prep the food and throw it in the slow cooker, load the dishes real quick, wipe down the counters, and when supper time rolls around it doesn’t look like a tornado came through your cooking space. I am a terrible housewife, y’all. My guest bed is constantly covered by a mound of clean laundry that I only fold if we are having company or my husband runs out of underwear in his drawer. I have three different vacuums yet I need to wear slippers 50% of the time because kids and dogs leave an unfathomable amount of crumbs and sand and dust in their wake. I don’t wash our couch slip covers until I go to flip a cushion over and realize the other side is already dirty. And even though my husband comes home to home cooked meals almost every night, he often also walks into a kitchen explosion that warrants pouring a glass of wine before he takes off his tie.  I try extra hard to be a great mother and cook hoping that will balance out our need for a weekly cleaning lady. The days I use my slow cooker and my husband comes home to a clean kitchen, I always get positive feedback, which makes me want to slow cook as many meals as I can.

I feel like people get into a rut when it comes to slow cooking and that makes me sad because the options are endless and everyone deserves that wife-of-the-year feeling I get when my better half comes home to a wonderful meal and clean kitchen. I honestly get a few messages a week asking for slow cooker recipes. I have probably 50 to share and I have gone back and forth about which ones I want to post first. My daughter voted for cheesy chicken and broccoli over rice, my grandma pulled pork, my half-Asian husband mongolian beef and rice, and I was thinking about paella because most people are very intimidated by paella… let alone slow cooker paella. I decided to ignore everyone’s advice and go with this soup because it’s a light yet filling one pot dinner that appeases kids and adults alike. It’s perfect to take to sick friends; it’s perfect after a long afternoon at the pool in the summer; it’s perfect sitting by the fire in the dead of winter. This meal knows no seasonal limitations and is easily tailored to fit your personal taste. Best part is it’s ridiculously easy. If any of those other listed recipes made your mouth water or if you are looking to expand your slow cooker arsenal, I’m going to post a slow cooker recipe a week for the rest of 2017 so keep checking back!

Back to the soup…. you begin this easy peasy one pot supper by putting about 1.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker insert (I use a 7 quart all clad slow cooker). Sprinkle/season with Montreal steak seasoning (or coarse ground salt and pepper). 

Add the carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, corn, and garlic. 

Add the spices (salt, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, pepper, bay leaves). Add the chicken stock. Add the lemon juice. Give it a stir and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours until chicken is done and pulls apart with a fork and veggies are soft (my slow cooker runs a little warmer than some so I usually am at the lower end of this range). 

When the chicken is done, remove it from slow cooker and allow to cool for a few minutes before you shred into chunks with a fork. While the chicken cools, turn the slow cooker on high if it’s not already and add the tortellini and spinach. 

Stir to combine, Cook until tortellini is soft and heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add chicken back to the slow cooker and mix through. Add additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste (I didn’t need any). Serve warm with crusty bread or saltines. I garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and/or Parmesan. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• montreal steak seasoning or salt and pepper (just enough to sprinkle over and season chicken)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn (I use white but yellow is fine)
• 1 8 oz container baby Bella mushrooms
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 12 oz fresh cheese tortellini
• 1 6 oz bag fresh baby spinach
• optional garnishes: flat leaf parsley, shredded parmesan

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken in slow cooker insert (I use 7 quart slow cooker). Sprinkle with Montreal steak seasoning OR coarse ground salt and pepper to season chicken.
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, corn, mushrooms, garlic.
3. Add 1 tsp each: thyme, salt, oregano.
4. Add 1/2 tsp each: pepper, rosemary, sage. Add bay leaves.
5. Add chicken broth and lemon juice. Stir to mix spices into broth.
6. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked through and veggies are soft.
7. Remove chicken from slow cooker and turn heat up to high if it is not on high already. Add tortellini and spinach to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high until tortellini is soft and cooked through, about 20 minutes. While tortellini cooks, shred chicken into bite size chunks.
8. When tortellini is cooked through, remove bay leaves and add chicken back to slow cooker. Add additional salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste.
9. Serve warm with crusty bread or saltine crackers. Garnish with flat leaf parsley and/or shredded Parmesan if desired. This soup stays good in fridge in sealed container for one week. Best reheated in microwave. If you make this and love it please post a pic and tag #thehungriesthousewife @thehungriesthousewife