What does this have to do with a soup recipe, you might be wondering. But I beg to ask the question, how does sourdough not relate to soup. Maybe it’s the college kid inside me that survived on nothing but broccoli cheddar soup in a sourdough bread bowl for 4 years straight that immediately identifies the connection. But alas, the more sourdough that appears in my house, the more I want soup.

I have a few staples. Vegetable soup. Broccoli cheddar. Chicken Gnocchi. Creamy chicken noodle. And a very basic tortellini soup. All very delicious. But the other day I got adventurous and typed “soup” into the search bar of TikTok. I know, how very bold of me to risk my FYP like that. But then again, is an FYP full of soup recipes not the goal in life?

That’s when I was introduced to this delicious creamy tortellini soup by Paigeejenna. I did things a leeeeeettle bit differently, but I want to make sure credit goes where credit is due. I owe this beauty for the soup I can’t stop thinking about.

How to make a Creamy Tortellini Soup you can’t stop thinking about

This is one of those recipes that’s so simple to make but results an impressive dish. A great one to keep in your monthly rotation or to have on hand for when you’re surprised with dinner guests. It makes a ton of food and is very filling yet inexpensive to make.

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Creamy Tortellini Soup

This recipe is so simple but packs a flavor punch!

Equipment

• 8 quart pot

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic or 2 tbsp jarred minced garlic
• 2 cups bella mushrooms finely diced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 32 oz Chicken broth or vegetable broth if you prefer
• 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes I used 1 can fire roasted and 1 can regular
• 1 can Norther white beans rinsed
• 1 cup Chopped spinach
• 1.5 cup heavy whipping cream Can use half & half if you prefer but may experience separating
• 2 cups tortellini of choice
• Seasonings to taste: garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper & Italian seasoning We measure these things with our heart

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large pot
• Add diced onion, sauté until translucent
• Add garlic, sauté until fragrant
• Add mushrooms
• Add seasonings - garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning & salt & pepper
• Add flour, stir until veggies are well coated and things start to thicken up
• S-L-O-W-L-Y stir in chicken broth. I tend to slowly stir in about 1.5 cups to keep the base of the soup thick before dumping the rest of the 32 oz in.
• Add in tomatoes, slightly drained
• Add rinsed white northern beans
• Add spinach if using frozen; hold off and add spinach when you add the tortellini if you’re using fresh
• Stir in about 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream.
• Taste & adjust seasonings as desired
• Simmer for about 20 minutes
• Pour in tortellini; cook according to packaging.
• Serve and enjoy - add parmesan as desired.

Let me know what you think if you end up making this recipe! I’d also love to know of any modifications you make.

We love the Cracker Barrel meatloaf in this house, but I noticed something the last few times I’ve made it. The leftovers just…don’t really get eaten. Even when I slice it up and freeze it, it just sits in the freezer until I eventually throw it away. And as I’m sure is the case in most homes right now, throwing away food is not something I want to be doing. Not when our grocery bill rivals our mortgage.

I never thought to investigate further into this. Instead, I just stopped making meatloaf as often. Until my husband made a comment in passing.

He works in a college, and he was telling me about his day. “I got the end piece of meatloaf at lunch, which is my favorite.” He went on to explain that he loves how the topping caramelizes over the entire piece. And that comment right there triggered an idea.

Making mini meatloaf in a muffin tin

Of course, I hit the internet, searching for a mini meatloaf recipe that I could use. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of picky when it comes to meatloaf. With the wrong recipe, it can come out dry and bland. And well, that’s what I was finding.

Recipe after recipe, all I could think was that can’t possibly be good. Every single one was some variation of boring, bland meatloaf. And again, with the way groceries are right now, I didn’t wan to risk making a boring, bland meatloaf, even in mini form.

So, I did what I always do: improvised.

Cracker Barrel Copycat Meatloaf

Like I mentioned earlier, Cracker Barrel meatloaf is a favorite in our house. It’s so different than any other meatloaf recipe we’ve ever used. And it’s certainly different than the meatloaf I grew up eating. It’s moist, rich and packed full of flavor. It has all of the elements you want in a classic comfort food.

So I decided to give it a try as a mini meatloaf in a muffin tin.

Mini meatloaf in a muffin tin mistakes

Admittedly, the first time I did this, I made some mistakes. I followed the recipe exactly except I rolled the meat into balls and placed it in a muffin tin. I baked for exactly the same amount of time you’d bake a traditional loaf.

Don’t do that. It turned out fine, and we still ate every last bite. But it only occurred to me when I’d already overcooked it that it probably didn’t need to back quite that long.

I was also scared of what the oils would do. We all know that ground beef produces grease. And as someone who has set her oven on fire once upon a time with grease spilling and hitting the hot coils of the oven, I wanted to avoid that. So I also placed bread in the base of the muffin tin in an attempt to soak up the grease.

You don’t need to do that, either.

This wasn’t necessarily a problem, but it is something I modified the second time I made these. I originally overstuffed the muffin tins. That’s not necessary. It’s perfectly tine to make them the size of an extra large meatball.

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Mini Meatloaf in Muffin Tin | Copycat Cracker Barrel Meatloaf

This delicious meatloaf is a family favorite in our house. So much so, we turned them into mini meatloafs for easy freezing and meal prepping.

Course Main Course

Keyword comfort food, meatloaf, mini meatloaf, muffin tin meatloaf

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 muffins

Equipment

• 1 Frying pan
• 1 Muffin Tin

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion Diced
• 1/2 Cup Bell Pepper Diced (We leave this out)
• 2 lbs Ground Beef I usually only use 1 - 1.5 lbs and it's fine - I'm only feeding myself, my husband and our toddler.
• 1 cup Crushed Ritz Crackers I usually use a sleeve, sometimes 2 -- measure with your heart
• 2 Egg Whisked
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

Topping

• 1/2-3/4 Cup Ketchup
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tsp Yellow Mustard

Instructions

• Preheat the Oven to 350
• Sauté the diced onions & peppers in a small pan with olive oil until softened. Set aside to cool
• Combine the eggs, crackers, sautéd veggies, cheese, milk salt & pepper in a large bowl.
• Add the ground beef and mix with your hands. Be careful not to overwork the meat.
• Roll the mixture into large meatball sized balls and place in regular sized muffin tin
• Bake for 15 minutes
• While the meatloaf bakes, go ahead and mix together the topping ingredients
• At 15 minutes, remove the meatloaf minis and spoon on the topping
• Bake for an additional 15 minutes
• Let the muffins rest for about 15 minutes before serving.
• I like to serve this with roasted campfire potatoes & green beans. Enjoy!

Mini Meatloaf in Muffin Tin Questions

Do these freeze well? 100%. I find that these freeze better than regular meatloaf. The constitution and more dense and so it withstands the defrosting process better than a traditional slice of meatloaf which tends to fall apart in the process. I froze them (with the topping on) in a quart sized freezer bag then just placed them in the fridge the night before I wanted to serve them. To reheat, I nuked them in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Came out perfect.

What’s a serving size? Nutritionally, I don’t know. But as far as knowing how many you might need per person, my husband and I both agreed that 2 were too many initially. One wasn’t enough. We both were fully satisfied with 1.5. My toddler will eat one.

Were they dry? Not even a little bit. Even on the first batch that I aggressively overcooked, they were still very moist (sorry for the word 🤪).

This is such a great meal to meal prep and also a great option to make for a family member or friend in need of freezer meals.

If you try it out, let me know! I’d love to hear about any modifications you make!

I guess it’s worth noting that I’ve also been on a bit of a mission lately to properly fuel my body. As someone who loves food, I can accidentally go off the rails occasionally. And let’s just say the train was fully derailed over the holidays. And as a postpartum woman who is getting older (hello, late 30s), the good old metabolism just doesn’t work like it used to (RIP abs).

That being said, I’ve been on the hunt for meals that are 1) quick and easy 2) offer nutrients and fuel 3) pack in some protein and 4) are delicious (because what’s the point if it isn’t?).

I’ll be honest, cottage cheese has always freaked me out. I use it in pasta recipes sometimes. But eating it on its own? Yeah, I’ll pass. Thanks. I remember growing up my mom used to eat it with cantaloupe.

My first dip into the cottage cheese world, I opted to swap it out for the mayo in my tuna salad. Again, hunting ways to add in extra protein. While I can’t say it was a perfect dupe, it definitely wasn’t a noticeable enough difference for me to care.

So I finally mustered up the courage to just try a spoonful of plain old cottage cheese. And y’all. It’s totally unoffensive. It just tastes like a mild, light cheese. The texture wasn’t as offensive as I thought it’d be either. So with that, I launched into the realm of trying out cottage cheese bowl recipes.

The one I have for you today I’ve actually modified a few times since the first time I tried it. But we’ll get into that in a moment because they way I initially tried it was super delicious on its own.

COTTAGE CHEESE | AVOCADO | CUCUMBER | TOMATO LUNCH BOWL

1/2 cup Cottage Cheese | I used 4% small curd
1/2 Cucumber diced
~5 Cherry tomatoes quartered
1/2 avocado diced
Everything but the bagel seasoning

@lots2smileabout Try a new #lunch #recipe with me. #WFHSAHM #parentsoftiktok #momsoftiktok #momtok #momsoftiktokclub #cottagecheeserecipe #fyp #fypシ ♬ Sunroof – Nicky Youre & dazy

This bowl on its own was really, really good. I was really surprised if I’m being honest. I thought for sure it would be one of those things that “does the trick” but isn’t actually super satisfying. But I was wrong. I will say I’ve since added pistachios to the bowl and that brought it to the next level — to the point that I’ve actually eaten this for lunch every single day since I first tried it over a week ago. I’ve also done it with just cucumber, avocado and pistachios when I ran out of tomatoes and that was just as good, too.

Would definitely recommend adding it to your rotation!