italian sausage soup

When I make soup, I MAKE SOUP. Soup is easy to reheat, freezes well, and if frozen right, takes up very little freezer space. I suck with the whole picture thing. Maybe I'll get one up tonight of the final product, but I keep forgetting to take pictures of the process. Besides, then I have to keep stopping and washing my hands to take a pic!

1lb italian sausage (pork or turkey, hot or sweet)
1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4" in half moons
1/2 medium summer squash, cut into 1/4" in half moons
1 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 red 'frying' pepper, chopped
28oz canned diced tomatos
2 fresh tomatos, chopped
garlic, to taste (I used 7 huge cloves)
1-2 onions (I had 1 1/2, so I used that)
some kind of pasta (I used TJ's Healthy Harvest mix of orzo, quinoa and something else)
chicken stock, fat free, low sodium
fresh ground pepper.
italian seasonings (I have a pre-mix)
olive oil (I have the Misto, best invention ever)

Remove sausage from casing, if necessary. Squish around a little with your hands to get it to a more ground-like consistency.

Coarsely chop the garlic and onion. Add to an oiled skillet and saute a few minutes, until onions are almost translucent.

Add the sausage all at once and mix around in the pan. Use a spatula to break up the sausage as it cooks, so that it is more like ground sausage. Break it into as big or small pieces as you want.

Drain the sausage, garlic, onion mix and set aside. In same skillet, add peppers and zucchini and cook until just tender.

Place the sausage and pepper mixes in a large pot (a stock pot is best).

Add chicken stock to desired consistency. If you like a thick stew-like soup, use less. If you like a thinner soup, use more. I ended up using a little more than 64 oz. If you're going to add rice, or some kind of grain that will soak up water as it cooks, adjust the stock accordingly.

Sprinkle the top with pepper and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil.

Add pasta, or other grain. Simmer 20 mins.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy. We sprinkled the top of ours with parmesan cheese, and ate it with fresh baked bread I got at a small shop on the way home.

Soup can be frozen in containers, or in freezer bags. To freeze, let soup sit til cool (this will take awhile) and ladle into the proper container. If you're using freezer bags, freeze flat on a cookie sheet or on the bottom of the freezer to save valuable freezer space.