Souper Sunday: Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup

So.
My mom gave me a new soup recipe book for Christmas.  It's a great thing, seeing as we have soup here a lot on Sundays.  Soup is easy, makes a lot, and often tastes even better as leftovers.  With this one, it also used up a bunch of vegetables that I'd bought for other things that were lurking in the crisper.  Win-win, as far as I'm concerned.
This past week has been cold.  Bone-chilling, truth be known.  My new position has me standing outside the school meeting the 9 buses that come in each morning and supervising the students that are headed for the middle school campus (there are too many students for the building, and they're in the process of renovating/constructing a new school).  This week was not the week to start bus duty, IMHO.  But dressing for the weather (I have worn all of my wool socks at some point this week), and knowing that there was a hot lunch waiting for me later helps.
While reading about different soups I was interested in trying, I found one that intrigued J using spinach, potatoes, and cheese tortellini.  When I went back and looked through the book for that particular recipe, I came up with 2 that were somewhat similar and yet both contained things that I didn't like or didn't want to buy.  This soup was born out of the mashup of those 2 recipes.
I present to you now, inspired by my new Taste of Home Soups Cookbook, Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 small redskinned potatoes, washed and cubed
1 Tbsp butter
1 celery rib, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, shredded (or 1 large handful julienne carrots)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 c chicken broth
6 oz package baby spinach
1- 9 oz package cheese tortellini
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Cook chicken and shred in the bowl of a stand mixer with garlic.  Let stand until ready to use.
2.  In a Dutch oven, melt butter and add onion, celery and carrots.  Stir frequently until onions are soft and translucent.  Add potatoes and stir.  Pour in broth.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmering for 10 minutes, covered.
3.  Stir in chicken and spinach.  When spinach is wilted, add tortellini and cook, uncovered, for 7-9 minutes until tortellini is tender.

Adapted from Taste of Home Soups

This makes a ton.  I think we got 10 servings out of the pot.  I had the shredded carrot, so I used it.  You could as easily chop a couple of carrots and toss them in.  I thought the broth looked pretty with the shreds, though.

It smelled amazing, and reminded me a great deal of Italian Wedding Soup.  The shredded chicken meant that there was a lot in every bowl, and the tortellinis are yummy.  I buy the big pack at Costco.  We actually ate another soup with tortellini while my mom was here for Christmas that used the other half of the package.  From the same cookbook too.  I should post it as well.  Mmm...soup.