Tortellini & Sausage Soup

A dear friend, introduced us to this yummy soup. We've adapted it a bit to make it a large batch. This has become a family favorite!

ITALIAN TORTELLINI & SAUSAGE SOUP (Freezer Meals)
Yields 4 batches (serves 6 /each batch)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. regular Italian sausage

2 lbs. HOT Italian sausage**

4 cups diced onions

3 Tablespoons minced garlic

7 Tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base Paste

3 (29 oz) cans of Italian diced tomatoes

4 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

8 cups of sliced zucchini

2 cups of sliced carrots

6 cups of diced bell peppers (red or yellow)

2 cups dry red wine

4 Tablespoons dried basil

4 Tablespoons dried oregano

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FREEZE: (in 4 portions (10 oz. servings) in 4 GALLON sized bags)

2 (20 oz) packages of fresh tortellini (cheese) or your choice
(Freeze in 4 (10oz) portions)

Topping:

Shredded parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup needed for each batch)

Directions:

In frying pan, cook sausage until done and finely crumbled.

Add cooked sausage to LARGE stock pot.

In same frying pan, saute onion & garlic in grease from sausage until translucent.

Add to onion & garlic to LARGE stock pot.

Add remaining ingredients (NOT tortellini or parmesan cheese)

Mix all ingredients together well.

Once cool enough, divide into 4 equal portions and spoon into freezer bags.

Label EACH bag: Directions: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Put into stock pot and add 5 cups of water. Remove 1 bag of tortellini from freezer to thaw and bring soup to a rolling boil. Once boiling add in tortellini and boil for 8-10 minutes.

This meal freezes well and is a quick, hearty soup. Remove 1 bag of frozen soup mix and 1 bag of frozen tortellini and follow directions on bag. It's ideal to thaw in refrigerator the night before, but many times, I pull this out last minute and thaw while cooking. Because we've made this so often now, I simply label the soup bag - Add 5 cups water and the tortellini bag - Boil 8-10 minutes in soup.

Serve hot and top with shredded parmesan cheese & salt & pepper (if desired)

**We like spicy, so we use regular and hot sausage, but this can be made with all regular/mild sausage.

Recipe adapted from: Once a Month Meals