Italian Sausage And Tortellini Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb mild Italian sausage
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups beef broth
2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (can use canned tomatoes, if desired)
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated basil and cheese tortellini, uncooked
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Preparation

Remove and discard casings from the sausage.
In a large Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 Tablespoon drippings in the pan. Set sausage aside.
Add onion and garlic to the drippings in the pan; cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender.
Add sausage, beef broth, carrots, tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, tomato sauce, water, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, stirring well.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
Add tortellini and parsley, stirring well.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until tortellini is tender. Adjust spices to taste.
Ladle soup into individual soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.