Unexpectedly let out of work at 11 am = enough time to prepare a slow cooker dinner.

I find most soups taste better the next day, after the flavors have time to meld. So with extra time to kill today, I took my traditional stove-top spinach, tomato and tortellini soup recipe and adapted it for the Crock Pot, giving it extra time for the flavors to intensify.

I've seen similar recipes add cream cheese, but haven't tried that yet. Instead, at the end I realized I had some leftover fat-free half and half from a brunch I hosted this weekend and poured a little in to give it a creamier taste and texture (first time I've added dairy to this recipe). I usually use 2 cans of diced tomatoes (or a 28 oz can), but today my pantry just had the 1 can, so that's what I used. You could use raw baby spinach (just add in the last 5 minutes or so to let it wilt), and fresh or frozen tortellini (fresh: add in the last 15 mins or so; frozen maybe the last 15-20 mins).

Ingredients

• Olive oil, 1 Tbsp
• Onion, 1/2 yellow diced
• Low-sodium broth, 32 oz
• Diced, canned tomatoes (again, I suggest 2 14 oz or 1 28 oz can, but today I just used 1 14 oz can)
• Parmesan rind (I buy them from Whole Foods and freeze, adding to soups throughout the year)
• Basil, 2 frozen cubes from Dorot's
• Garlic, 4 frozen cubes from Dorot's
• Frozen spinach, 1 bag (or 1 box frozen or 1 bag baby spinach)
• Tortellini, 1 bag dried (filled with pesto in my case; cheese or any other filling works well!)
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Water, 1.5-2 cups
• Not pictured: bay leaf (1), oregano (last minute add, 1/2 tsp), fat-free half and half (1/4 cup)

Directions

1- Add the olive oil, onion, broth, tomatoes, garlic, onion, bay leaf, and parm rind to a slow cooker set on low. Add 1-2 cups of water as needed. Cook for 4-6 hours.

2- About 1 hour before you're done, add the frozen spinach to the pot and stir thoroughly (do not defrost yet, the extra water can become part of the soup).

3- About 20-30 minutes before serving, change the temp to high and add the tortellini and fat-free half and half (about 20 minutes gets you closer to al dente; 30 min is fully cooked).

4- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with extra grated parm (be sure to remove the parm rind and bay leaf!).