It's a Soup Kind of Day

The weather here is turning cold.  And that has put me in the mood for soup!  I love to have a bowl of hot soup for dinner on a cold, blustery day.  Here is a really good recipe for Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup, although chopping up all of the vegetables nearly killed me!

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

• 1lb Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 46 oz beef stock
• 1/2 c red wine
• 28 oz can peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 3 zucchini, chopped
• 19 oz bag of frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley

Brown sausage in large pot.  Drain all grease except for 1 Tbsp, then add onion, green pepper & garlic and saute for 5 minutes.  Add sausage back to pot.  Add beef stock, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano & tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add zucchini, tortellini, and parsley.  Simmer until tortellini is cooked (8-10 min). Can serve topped with parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!