Tortellini Soup & Pull-apart Cheese Bread
Need a hearty lunch for the kids at home today or a quick weeknight dinner? This tortellini soup is incredibly satisfying, flavorful, and so fast to make. I used Italian sausage and didn’t even have to season the soup with salt and pepper. My mom used to make us this crusty pull apart cheesy bread and I forgot what an absolute showstopper it is. We tore into it at the station, barely leaving a crumb behind. And now I want to make the entire meal all over again for dinner tonight.Â

Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb bulk Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 28- oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1 9-10 oz package cheese tortellini , (from the refrigerated aisle)
- 3-4 stems kale, about 1/2 bunch, stemmed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, to garnish
- Italian parsley, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, brown and crumble the sausage over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for an additional minute, stirring continuously. Add the tomatoes and broth and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the tortellini and kale and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Finish with the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper, if needed.Â

Pull-apart Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- 1 round, crusty loaf of bread, about 16-22 oz, we used an Italian round
- 6 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, (8 oz package), grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a serrated knife, cross-hatch the bread by slicing it at 3/4-inch intervals, making sure not to slice all the way through to the bottom crust. Turn the loaf 90 degrees and repeat, creating squares of bread that are still attached by the bottom crust. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the garlic, salt, and parsley. With a pastry brush or just a spoon, butter the bread thoroughly, getting it in between the cuts and slices. Stuff the cheese in the nooks and crannies and bake until bread is crisp and cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes.