Creamy Crockpot Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
2 Cups water
1/4 Cup diced onion
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 Cup diced carrots
1 lb ground beef browned
4 Cups loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
4 Cups beef broth
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
16 oz cheese tortellini

Instructions
1.  Combine spaghetti sauce, water, meat, onion, garlic, carrots, spinach, cream cheese, beef broth, and mushrooms in a slow-cooker.  Cook on low for 7 hours or 5 hours on high.
2.  Before adding tortellini, take a whisk to your soup to break up any chunks of cream cheese.  Stir in frozen tortellini.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender and hot.

Killer Cupcakes

 4 - one ounce squares semisweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
2 sticks butter
4 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup flour

Filling
8 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
dash of salt
3/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips - and thought they were so cute.)

Makes about 20-22 cupcakes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. In top of a double boiler over simmering water, (I just put the chocolate and butter and vanilla in a regular pan right on the heat - but watched it really closely).  Melt chocolate with vanilla, butter.  In large bowl beat the eggs until thick and add the sugar.  Beat in the flour.  Fold in the butter chocolate mixture.  Spoon into tins filling the cups 2/3 full.

Filling - Mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt until just blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop a rounded teaspoon of filling onto the top of each cupcake.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Photo cred blisstree.com