"SOUP"ER Saturday!!

Hi ALL! Welcome to my SOUP-er Saturday! Now, I hate to admit it, but I am not a real fan of cold weather. I AM FOND of SOUP, however, and even though I don't love the cold weather I am grateful for it because it means it is SOUP SEASON!! YUMMM!!! I LOVE brothy soups, and creamy soups...all hot and delicious and making me feel all cozy and warm inside. I have a MULTIPLICITY of soup recipes and really like trying out new ones. Here is a new one I discovered. I adapted it from allrecipes.com to suit my specific tastes. So I thought I would share my version of it with you:

Cheese Tortellini and Sausage Soup

Ingred.
1 lb. of Italian Sausage (mine was sweet stuffed with cheese and peppers)
1 c. onions chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
5 1/2 c beef broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 c sliced carrots
2 T fresh basil chopped
1/2 t dried oregano
1 1/2 c tomato juice
1 T tomato paste
1 c sliced squash (either zucchini or yellow...I had yellow so that is what I used)
1 can cut green beans (drained)
1 package frozen cheese tortellini
2 c fresh spinach
Parmesan cheese for garnish if desired
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
In large stock pot cook sausage according to package directions. Remove sausage from pan and halve lengthwise and then cut into bite size pieces. Saute onions and garlic in sausage drippings until onions have wilted. Add beef stock and stir bottom of pan to get all the yummy brown bits from sausage. Add diced tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato juice and tomato paste (I stir the tomato paste into the juice to incorporate it before adding). Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 30 min. Skim fat from soup. (easy way to do this is add some ice cubes...the fat will cling to the ice...scoop out the ice cubes and you scoop out the fat, too) Add sliced squash and green beans. Simmer another 20 min. or until squash is tender. Bring back to a boil and add spinach and tortelli. Turn down heat and simmer 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese if desired.

This is soooooo YUMMY!! Hope you enjoy it!! It is great served with crusty bread or garlic bread. Hope your soul is full of warmth today! HUGS, Cheryl