Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Another savory offering tonight; I guess the prolonged cold has affected me: I’m really craving soup these days! I saw this on My Best Bites. I added additional chicken broth to stretch the volume further. Next time I’ll process the diced tomatoes a bit- my Delmonte Italian spice diced tomatoes were about 1” dice- too big for my tastes.

Tortellini Sausage Soup

• 3 links Italian sausage or 2 patties (hot Italian sausage was excellent)
• 4 cloves pressed garlic
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ c. water
• 1 carton + 1 can chicken broth
• ½ c. apple cider
• one 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
• one 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)
• 8-10 oz. package frozen or dry (Barilla)cheese tortellini
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley (yes, that's two tablespoons)

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until onions are translucent and your sausage is cooked.
4. 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.
5. Add the tortellini and cook until tender, and then serve with bread and freshly-grated Parmesan.