Italian Sausage, Kale and Tortellini Soup

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into pot and brown, stirring and breaking up sausage occasionally, until cooked through.

Step 2

Drain sausage onto a plate lined with several layers of paper towels while reserving 1 Tbsp rendered fat in pot (if there's not a tbsp just add 1 more tbsp olive oil to pot).

Step 3

Add onions and carrots and saute 3 minutes then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

Step 4

Stir in beef broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5

Bring to a light boil, return sausage to pot, cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until carrots are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.

Step 6

Stir in tortellini and kale then cover and cook 7 - 9 minutes longer. Serve warm with parmesan cheese if desired (note that as the soup rests the tortellini will absorb more broth so you can add more broth or water to thin as desired).