Adventures in soup-making

Lately we have gotten tired of the same old meals at home, and thanks to this unseasonably cold spring, I have been inspired to try my hand at making soups. The other night we had a new favorite - Cheese Tortellini and Chicken Soup. The ingredients are basically as follows:

** DISCLAIMER: I rarely actually measure ingredients, so this is what I think I used**
8 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
2 chicken breasts (shredded, cut up and pan fried, however you want it)
1 package frozen Cheese Tortellini (I use the tri-colored ones in the refrigerated section at Costco)
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1 chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 to 2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp dried basil (or 3 tbsp fresh chopped basil)
salt and pepper to taste

I add the veggies to the broth first and let them simmer for about 20 to 30 min with the spices before I add the chicken (already cooked). Add the tortellini last and when it is done, the soup is done.

Here is what it looks like:

Sorry the picture isn't that great. I have discovered that taking photos of food is really hard.

Anyways, some of the other soups I have made are Salmon Chowder and Chicken Tortilla soup. So far they have all come out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Of course Willy like them a lot, but he will eat pretty much anything.