Tortellini Soup.

Growing up, I remember my mom always made a lot of soup during the winter time. There’s just nothing better on a cold day than a bowl full of piping hot soup and a piece of crusty bread. This recipe is my take on a soup my mom makes. It’s such a quick and easy dinner. And, it’s absolutely delicious. Plus, my husband adores tortellini. Needless to say, this is a favorite around my house. And this makes enough that we can have it for more than one meal. What’s not to love!?!

Tortellini Soup

1 tbsp. butter

½ medium onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 box of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes with juice

4 cups chicken stock, unsalted

1 package frozen cheese tortellini

Salt, as needed

Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until tender. Add garlic, tomatoes, chicken stock and spinach. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the tortellini and cook for 10 minutes. Top with the parmesan cheese.

Source: my mom :)

Enjoy!

Transformation of the Hallway

We moved into our new house at the beginning of July. Six months later and, with a few exceptions, the house still looks like it did that first month. Now that all the Christmas decorations are down, I’ve realized how drab everything looks and I am determined to makes some changes!

Very few of my decorations from the old house work in the new house because the color schemes are very different. One of the things from the old house that I was able to carry over to the new house was my hallway of picture frames. At the old house, there was a short hallway from the entry way that led to the kitchen. On both sides of the hallway, I had black picture frames of varying sizes and styles adorning the walls, displaying pictures of our family and friends. It started out with just a few frames but when we moved out almost five years later, both walls were covered. This was always one of my favorite parts of the house. Anyone who came over, especially the nieces and nephews, loved to look at the pictures.

At the new house, there is a very long hallway at the end of the house where my son’s bedroom and bathroom are (along with the guest room, half bath and office). When we first looked at the house, I knew that hallway would be perfect for my frames. I’ve been anxious to get them up but a bit overwhelmed by how to hang them. At the old house, I added them slowly over time and was able to put a lot of thought into the placement of each frame. But with over 40 frames to hang all at once, I wasn’t sure how to start. 

Before

Over the holidays, I decided I was tired to looking at the drab walls in that hallway and was determined to finish the project before I went back to work in January. First, I updated the pictures in the frames (which took much more time than I had planned) and added a few new frames to the collection. Next, I moved all of the frames into the hallway and laid them out along the floor. With my son and husband out of the house, I went to work, armed with my stool, pencil, hammer, hangers and level. I selected one of the larger frames to start with and placed it in the center of the hallway. I added the other frames around it in a “random” way so that they looked like they had been hung over time instead of all at once.


After



A closer look

I am very happy with the way this turned out. It really adds life to the long hallway and my son loves to look at the pictures as we walk to and from his room.

 

Checking out the pictures