Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Not a great picture but it's a great soup!!!

It's crazy cold here in Wisconsin and tonight I just wanted something warm and comforting for dinner. Made this recipe for the first time but it won't be the last, it's a keeper. This soup is full of Italian flavor. I made a few changes that I think made it even better but you can find the original recipe at allrecipes.com.





INGREDIENTS:

1 pound sweet mild Italian sausage

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

2-14.5 oz cans Petite tomatoes, not drained

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 tablespoon fresh basil (but if you don't have fresh use 1 teaspoon dried basil)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini

8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (only if you have it on hand)

1/2 cup half and half or whipping cream (I know adding cream adds more calories but so worth it!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.

2. Saute onions in drippings until soft then add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Stir in beef broth, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, zucchini and sausage. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium high and slow boil uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Add tortellini during the last 8 minutes. Add parsley and cream and heat though. Serves 6