Sausage Tortellini Soup

By vealam

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) Jimmy Dean All Natural Regular Pork Sausage*
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock (not broth)
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (5 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili peppers
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 oz cheese tortellini
• 3 oz fresh baby spinach leaves

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from noblepig.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Make little balls of sausage by just squishing them together with your hands and dropping them into hot pan (see picture). Do this in two batches. Brown all sides and completely cook them through. Remove onto a paper-towel lined plate. Saute onions in the fat leftover from the pork until soft; about 8 minutes. Add pressed garlic and saute for 30 seconds more.

Meanwhile, add chicken stock, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, sugar, chili peppers, pepper and salt to a large, heavy bottomed soup pot and bring to a boil. Add onion-garlic mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. With a potato masher, crush down into soup, slightly breaking up tomatoes and onions. You will not be able to do a lot of crushing but a little will be just fine.

Add tortellini and cook according to package directions, usually about 7-9 minutes. Add in cooked sausage and stir in spinach until just wilted.

Serve immediately.

*For total deliciousness, I highly recommend using this sausage. It is already seasoned and imparts the perfect flavor to the soup. It's widely available in the United States.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1-1/2 cups
Calories: 433
Fat: 20.4 g
Saturated fat: 7.3 g
Unsaturated fat: 0.1 g
Carbohydrates: 41.1 g
Sugar: 14 g
Fiber: 6.3 g
Protein: 22.1 g
Cholesterol: 60.7 mg