Tortellini Vegetable Soup & Rum Raisin Bread Pudding... YUM!

I love to batch cook on the weekends... this way we enjoy a nice hot meal at home, as well as I have plenty of leftovers for work all week...

This weekend I made the most amazing Vegetarian friendly Vegetable Soup!

May I present you... Tortellini Vegetable Soup served with Crusty French Bread

Ingredients:

1 Cup Morningstar Grillers Prime Crumbles 1 Medium onion, chopped
6 Garlic cloves, minced
5 Cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 Can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 Package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 Package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
2-1/4 Teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil (or, you can substitute thyme and oregano)
1/4 Teaspoon pepper
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 Cup of chopped carrot 

Directions:

1 . Cook Morningstar Crumbles with onion, carrot, and garlic until cooked (5-7 minutes) on stovetop.
2. Add the broth and tomatoes to crockpot.
3. Stir in tortellini and add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes.
4. Add the onion and "meat" mixture to the crockpot and cook on low for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve with slice of crusty french bread!
Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Info per Serving:

• Calories: 251.9
• Total Fat: 8.4 g
• Cholesterol: 53.9 mg
• Sodium: 1,136.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 27.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
• Protein: 17.3 g

 and for DESSERT...

Rum Raisin Bread Pudding w/ Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 

Yummy Cinnamon Goodness!!!

Ingredients:

          3 cups milk

          3 tablespoons butter

          1 teaspoons vanilla extract

          1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

          3/4 cup packed brown sugar

          3 tablespoons rum

          1/2 cup raisins

          7 (1/2-inch) slices brioche bread, cubed or torn

          4 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large saucepan, add milk, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, rum and raisins and heat until warm. Simmer and stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Into a large bowl add the cubed bread and pour in the hot milk mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes so the bread absorbs the milk.

4. Add the beaten eggs to the bread and milk mixture and stir. Pour bread pudding into a buttered 1 1/2-quart baking dish and bake for 50 minutes.
5. Serves 10 and is great served warm & with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Nutritional Info per Serving:

• Calories: 396.1
• Total Fat: 6.7 g
• Cholesterol: 98.0 mg
• Sodium: 485.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 73.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
• Protein: 13.3 g

ENJOY!