Sausage Minestrone

I copied this one out of one of my mother-in-laws papers. It sounded good, so I gave it a try. Trent said it was tasty (I agree); however, he adds cheese (lots and lots and lots) to just about everything I cook. I did not. It was delicious without. For those of you who are watching your calories... I ran it through my recipe calculator with ground sausage, turkey sausage, and ground beef. The results were surprising to me! For the Italian taste, I would stick with regular ground Italian sausage. (Hugo's sells it in bulk; no casings to remove.) Try it out and let me know what you think.

Sausage Minestrone

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 c. carrot, chopped small

1 c. celery, chopped small

1 c. (or 1 med.) onion, chopped

2 cans (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 cans (10 oz.) fat free chicken broth (I used beef; it's what I had.)

1 c. small pasta (I used macaroni; the recipe calls for Ditalini)

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a large kettle, brown sausage. Add chopped vegetables and saute until tender. Add tomatoes and broth; simmer 15 minutes. Add pasta, simmer 15 minutes more. (You may want to watch it and add more broth or water if it gets too dry.) Stir in beans the last 2-3 minutes to warm through.

Yield: 10 1-cup servings (5) *With Jennie-O turkey sausage (3) *With 93/7 beef (3)