Sausage Soup

At a family dinner we had a few weeks ago, my sister in law made a tortellini soup.  I didn't get to try any, but my son Tristan sure enjoyed it.  So I thought I would try and make my own version.  We went to the store to pick up the ingredients I wanted, but discovered the tortellinis were super expensive.  Eight bucks for a bag!  Sooooo,  I thought I would get creative.  I bought a box of whole grain pasta instead.

Here is what I ended up using.

1/3 box of spiral whole grain pasta
Half a pound of hot Italian sausage
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 zucchini chopped
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 cup button mushrooms
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
salt, garlic powder, oregano, parmesan cheese (to taste)
3-5 cups beef broth (depending on how soupy you want it)
2 tbsp olive oil

Fairly simple and straight forward right?

First, cook and drain the pasta. Set that aside
Brown the sausage until thoroughly cooked in a frying pan, then add the tomatoes, onion and zucchini, and mushrooms.  Add the sugar.  Cook until the vegetables are tender.  In a large pot, add the broth, oil, spices and pasta.  Then stir in the sausage and veggies.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat, just enough for all the flavors to meld, but not too long that you turn your pasta into goop.
Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve with a side of garlic toast.

Wow, can I say that turned out fabulously?  It was so stinkin tasty I couldn't believe it.  Even after I blended it, it was still perfectly sweet and spicy.  Nick had a huge bowl for dinner, and then another for lunch the next day.  It's a great dish for a cold fall day, give it a try!  (Thanks Andrea for the inspiration!)