Sausage Tortellini Soup

You know I love soup :)

I got this recipe from Jeff's grandma.

Sorry for the gross looking picture, I forgot to take a picture until after we had served it and gotten the pan all dirty.

Ingredients:
1 lb mild Italian Sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
3 tsp parsley
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups dry or frozen tortellini

In the pot you are going to cook in, or in a frying pan, cook the sausage until brown (if you buy the links, remove the skin first).  Remove the sausage from the pan, leaving the drippings.  Saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add all the ingredients except the zucchini and tortellini.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add zucchini and tortellini, simmer for 30 minutes more.

You can also do this in the crock pot, just brown the sausage first, then add all the ingredients except the zucchini and tortellini.  Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.  Add the zucchini and tortellini and cook on high for 30 minutes.

I served this with foccacia bread .I also like to add a few drops of Tabasco sauce on top.