Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Good day to you all!  Doesn't the week before a holiday seem to move at a glacial pace?  Hopefully it will pick up some speed because I can barely wait for next week... or this weekend for that matter.

Are any of you planning on going to see Catching Fire?  The Hunger Games was a fantastic series and Catching Fire was my favorite book of the trio.  I read a lot of books and get absolutely giddy when one that I read is adapted for the big screen.  Nine times out of ten, the book is better but it is always entertaining to see your imagination translate to the movie.

To accompany this chilly weather is yet another soup recipe.  Trust me, I will have many more over the next few months.  A similar crockpot version of this soup has been floating around Pinterest for a while.  Other than some minor prep, this recipe moves pretty quickly.  Easy enough for a weeknight and super flavorful!           

Brown the sausage.

Chop the onions and peppers.  Looks like an Italian flag!

Cook for a few minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

Mix in the flour until sausage/pepper/onion mixture is coated.

Add stock...

Whisk to combine.

Time for the spices.

And tomatoes.

And cream.

Cook for about 20 minutes.

Chop some flat leaf parsley.

Finally, add the parsley and tortellini and you are just about done!



Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
1 pound ground sausage
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
8 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 large package of tortellini

In a large stock pot, brown sausage.  Add red pepper, green pepper, onion and garlic.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes.  Add flour.  Stir to coat sausage mixture.  Grab your whisk, pour in stock and whisk until all lumps are gone.

Turn heat up and bring to slow boil, stirring frequently.  Add dried oregano, thyme, basil and red pepper, tomatoes and cream. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Finish by adding the fresh parsley and tortellini.