Tortellini and Panchetta Tomato Soup

Tortellini and Panchetta Tomato Soup
Source: Me with inspiration from Giada Di Laurentis

1/2 cup Campbell's Tomato Soup Concentrate
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 tsp dried Italian seasonings
1/4 inch thick slice Panchetta (at my deli that is .09 lb) cubed
1/2 cup dried tortellini cooked to al dente (for me that was 5 minutes, which was about half of the time suggested on the package. I have no idea why it was so fast other than that I was cooking a fraction of what was in the package) I used Barilla Spinach and Cheese Tortellini
Water to boil tortellini
Salt for the water used to boil the tortellini
Grated Parmesan cheese to top

Steps:

1. Brown cubed panchetta in a pan until crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Meanwhile bring water to a boil for the tortellini and salt the water.

2. Combine the tomato soup concentrate, the milk and the Italian seasonings in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a paper towel to prevent splashing. Microwave on high for three minutes.

4. Cook tortellini until al dente and then drain.

5. Put cooked tortellini and browned panchetta in the tomato soup and then top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

This is very good and simple. The whole thing from start to finish took about ten minutes. This would be great for a weeknight meal with a simple spinach salad or for a weekend lunch.

I sent some to work with Michael the next day to eat for lunch. I went ahead and combined the soup, Parmesan and panchetta but kept the tortellini separate in a baggie because I didn't want them to get soggy. Here are the directions I sent with Michael for re-heating: Microwave Tomato Soup on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Add in tortellini and cook for 30 seconds on high.

Michael does NOT like hot foods so I wanted to make sure that the soup didn't get too hot for him to eat because I didn't know if he would have enough time on his break to let it cool to a temperature that he could handle. I would have microwaved it for one minute after adding the tortellini.

Michael didn't eat this because apparently he doesn't like tortellini that has cheese in it because he says it usually contains Ricotta Cheese, which he does not like (even though he likes the very similar cottage cheese). Is there any type of tortellini that doesn't have cheese in it?

I think that adding wilted spinach to the soup would also be really great.

Hope you enjoy!