Soups on!!

Soup.  There is nothing better on a dreary winter night.  The smell that fills the house while it bubbles away on the stove.  The steam rising from the bowl as you sit down to eat.  The warm, filling feeling you get after eating it.  My family loves soup.  We have gone so far as to do a whole "thirty days of soup", we ate nothing but homemade soups! I worried we would get tired of eating soup, that I would get sick of making soup or that I would not be able to find 30 different recipes.  I was so wrong! It was so much fun and we discovered some new and tasty favorites!  Here is one of those favorites! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 20 oz. package link sweet Italian sausage,

casings removed

1 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups beef stock

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and

chopped (I use canned tomatoes in the winter)

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup tomato sauce

2 small zucchini, chopped

8 ounces cheese and spinach tortellini

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

 

Place the sausage in a large pot over medium high heat and saute until well browned. Drain the fat except for about 1 tablespoon, add the onions and garlic and saute for 10 more minutes.  Next add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any fat that may surface.  Add the zucchini, tortellini, green bell pepper and parsley to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until tortellini is fully cooked. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with the cheese.