Mmm...mmm...awesome!

We're in the middle of a soup kick at my house. In the last three weeks I've made a tomato chicken soup, beef, quinoa & barley soup and a split pea soup but my favourite has been the Italian sausage and tortellini soup. It's rich, filling and delicious. Try it!

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

3 links sweet italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
5 cups beef stock
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup corn
1 green pepper, diced
8 oz cheese or beef tortellini
chopped parsley

I started by removing the sausage from casings and browned it in sauté pan for about 10 minutes. Drain most of the fat but leave a bit to sauté the onions and garlic in. Next add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any fat that may surface. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients and let cook for another 10 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked. Now eat.

We actually made double the recipe and have been eating this soup for days. Normally if I make this much soup in one go, I would freeze half of it but I figure the tortellini would soak up all the liquid and would become huge and soggy.
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