Creamy Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 small shallot, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C. all-purpose flour
5 C chicken broth
14 oz. refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 tsp kosher sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
6 oz. chopped fresh spinach
2 C half & half

Directions:
1. In a large stockpot set over medium-high , cook the sausage until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate; set aside.

2. Add onion, shallot and carrot, saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and saute  for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.

3. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add in the chicken broth, whisk to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes.

4. Pat as much grease as possible off of the sausage, then add it along with the tortellini, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, spinach, and half & half. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the tortellini is fully cooked.

5. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan, if desired.

Recipe from lifemadesimplebakes.com

Lasagna Soup

1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Italian style tomatoes
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 tsp. leaf basil
2 T. sugar
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
7 lasagna noodes, broken up
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1-2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Brown the sausage, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a soup pan until the sausage is browned and the onions are translucent.

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, sugar, red pepper, chicken broth, and salt. Bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the lasagna noodle chunks to the soup pot. Let the noodles simmer in the soup until they are tender--about 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top.

This recipe freezes really well, but the noodles absorb a lot of the liquid so it isn't much like soup anymore, but still tastes great.

From:  Cherise Dodson

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Tortellini Sausage Soup

Tortellini Sausage Soup (From Our Best Bites Blog)

3 links Italian sausage * (I used 12 oz. of Jimmy Dean's Hot Sausage)
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 15-oz. cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider (don’t leave this out! I did once and it wasn’t the same…)
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)
2 tablespoons dried parsley

8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini (check the freezer section of your grocery store; if you can find it there, it will almost always be way cheaper than fresh tortellini. Also, Barilla makes a great dry cheese tortellini)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley (yes, that’s two tablespoons)

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.

Chop onion and add to pot with garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. 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.

Zuppa Tuscano

1/2 or 1 lb. Italian sweet or hot sausage (I use 1/2 lb.)
2 potatoes cut into half lengthwise and sliced 1/4" slices
½ Cup onions, diced
6 Slices of bacon
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
3 cups of sliced kale
2 Tbs chicken base
1 qt. water
½ Cup heavy cream

Fry sausage in a medium pan on medium heat until done. Remove from pan and drain. Cook onions, garlic and bacon in the same pan. Remove bacon and crumble. In a large pot add chicken base, water and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Add bacon, sausage, kale and cream. Simmer for about 4 min.

Sausage Egg Casserole*

12-16 oz sausage
Small can green chilies
Garlic powder
6 eggs
1 ½ cups bisquick
1 ½ cups grated cheese
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350˚. Brown sausage and put in the bottom or a 9x13” baking dish. Sprinkle chilies evenly over the sausage. Add garlic powder to taste. Beat eggs with wisk. Add bisquick, milk, and cheese to eggs. Stir and pour over sausage. If desired, sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.