Sausage Tortellini Soup

Earlier this fall I began posting my favorite soup recipes. During the cooler months I like to make a homemade soup a week. It doesn't always happen. For example, last week my family ate lots of soups, but they were all from a can. (A friend recently introduced me to the Progresso brand. I've tried the tomato, chicken noodle, vegetarian lentil, and vegetarian vegetable and they are all delicious!) Here's the one I made last evening. I got it from a coworker about 6 years ago. This time I used 2 c. beef broth from our cow's beef bones so there were actually some little pieces of beef in it as well. I think it just added to the intensity and richness of flavor.

P.S. Learned something new yesterday. When there's no tomato sauce on hand, mix 3/4 c. tomato paste with 1 c. water and you get 2 c. tomato sauce!!

Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 lb. italian sausage
1 c. coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, sliced
5 cups beef broth
1 cup water
2 c. chopped tomatoes
1 c. chopped carrots
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. chopped zucchini
8 oz. cheese-filled tortellini
3 T. parsley

Brown sausage with onion and garlic. Drain well. Combine in large pot everything EXCEPT: zucchini, tortellini, and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Cover and simmer another 30 minutes. Add zucchini and cook only until crisp tender (I did this about 5-10 minutes.) Do not overcook. Add parsley. Finally, add tortellini right before you serve soup - it needs no longer than 3-5 minutes to cook. Serve immediately!

Chunky Vegetable Chili

As promised earlier this fall, I'm sharing my favorite soup recipes occasionally on this blog. This is one is delicious. It's quick to assemble and quite healthy too. The bonus is that you can put it in the crockpot and forget about it until dinner!!

Chunky Vegetable Chili

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 medium green sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. coarsely chopped onion
1/2 c. coarsely chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 -3 t. chili powder (we usually do 2)
1 t. dried oregano, crushed
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 - 14 1/2 oz. cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
17 oz. can whole kernal corn, undrained
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed & drained
8 oz. salsa

Combine everything in crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Serve with dollop of sour cream on top and/or shredded cheese.