Christening the New Stock Pot!

After much discussion, we decided to make a family favorite last Friday night for the first meal prepared in the new stock pot: 

Hearty Italian Soup

½ pound Italian-style sausage, cut into ½ inch pieces

¾ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced (can use powder)

3 (14 ½ oz) cans beef broth

1 (14 ½ oz) can stewed tomatoes

½ cup dry white wine (optional)

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon basil

½ teaspoon marjoram

2 oz fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti, broken into 2 inch lengths

1 (16 oz) package Italian-style frozen vegetables

freshly ground black pepper (optional)

chopped parsley (optional)

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot, sauté sausage, onion and garlic. Drain and return to pot. Add beef broth, tomatoes, wine, sugar, oregano, basil and marjoram. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 6 minutes. Add vegetables and continue to simmer until vegetables and pasta are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley to garnish. Serve with parmesan cheese. Makes 6 to 8 servings (for small people… in our house this is about one meal!)

My notes: I generally make a double batch of this since sausage comes in 1 pound rolls/packages. If we are not planning to eat it all at one sitting, I put in the vegetables and wait on the pasta. It tends to break down and get starchy if reheated a lot. So once the veggies are about where we like them I move one meals’ worth into a smaller pot and add pasta to that pot. Then I refrigerate or freeze the rest and add the pasta in while reheating it – after it has come to a boil. We also tend to double or triple the amount of pasta.