Baked Tortellini Soup

I made this for a dinner party for 13 people.  I doubled the recipe and it was plenty with a few bowls of leftovers too!  I also used Gluten Free Tortellini!  It was wonderful and a "One Pot Meal" unless you double it and then you need two big pots.

This entire soup can also be made in the oven.  See notes on baking temperatures below.
Serves 8-10 (not doubled).




Ingredients

1.5 lbs Italian Sausage (1/2 Mild & 1/2 Hot)
*squeeze Sausage out of casing into little meat balls
1 Cup Onion, chopped
1 tsp Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp ground Black Pepper
4 Cups Beef Broth
2 Cups Water
1.5 tsp Italian Seasoning
1.5 Cups Carrots, thinly sliced
1, 16oz can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
1, 15oz can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1, 6oz can pitted, sliced ripe Olives
*I have never added these although I love olives, I think the flavor would be too strong
2 Cups Zucchini, diced
16oz tri-color Tortellini
*If dried, cooked al dente and drained
*If fresh, do not pre-cook
Parmesan Cheese

Directions

*If making in the oven roast this section at 400.
In a LARGE stock pot or a Dutch Oven, combine Sausage, Onion, Garlic, Olive Oil and Pepper.  Mix and cook on Medium heat until Sausage is browned, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes.

*If making in the oven decrease temp to roast the rest at 325 covered.
Add Beef Broth, Water, Italian Seasoning and Carrots.  Cook on another 20 minutes.
Stir in Tomatoes with the juice (I always chop the "Whole Tomatoes" in half first), Beans, Olives, and Zucchini.  Cook another 15 minutes.

Add Tortellini and cook covered another 5 minutes until either the Fresh Tortellini is cooked, or the al dente Tortellini is fully cooked.

Serve in bowls with Parmesan cheese on top.
I also served this with Herb Focaccia bread.

Leftovers
If the soup needs more liquid added the next day for leftovers add some more water or beef broth, depending on flavor.


**Many thanks to Colorado Collage for this recipe.  Some small amount changes have been made to the original recipe by Halie Casey.
**Although this cookbook is not Paleo specific this is the Holy Grail of cookbooks, simply referred to as "The Book" in our family.  Thank you Mom for all your notes that I have copied over into my Book!