Tortellini Sausage Soup

Yes, another soup recipe! Its that time of year! This soup was an unplanned dinner. I found myself without anything defrosted and not knowing what to make for dinner. I looked in the pantry and found I had tortellini and was thinking of incorporating it in some sort of soup when I remembered this recipe from Our Best Bites. I just recently found this site and they have some really fantastic looking recipes. As luck would have it, I had almost everything I needed to make this tortellini sausage soup, including the sausage which is easy to defrost! This was a wonderfully hearty and filling soup. It was a unanimous hit in our house. It makes just enough for dinner and then some leftovers which is perfect. I didn't have zucchini so I added some organic frozen chopped spinach. I paired this with mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a perfect dinner to lead in to watching Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown with our three year old.

Tortellini Sausage Soup

3 links Italian sausage
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated (great way to use your food processor if you have one) (I used organic frozen spinach instead)
8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini
2 Tbsp. dried parsley

If you're using link sausage, remove the casings and crumble into a large soup pot. To remove the casings, you can use a sharp knife to cut a slit down one side of the sausage and then peel back the casing. And just so you know, both Sara and I have tried taking pictures of this method and there is no G-rated way of posting those pictures...

Begin cooking sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently. If your sausage is pretty fatty, you'll want to drain it when it's about halfway cooked. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked. Your house will smell heavenly.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice, water, chicken broth, carrots, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.
Source: Our Best Bites