Hearty Sausage Soup by Katie

Posted by carsimulator on Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 (1-lb.) pkg. Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage (any variety), diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups celery, sliced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. beef flavor instant bouillon
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. marjoram leaves
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups water
1/2 (1-lb.) pkg. pasta nuggets, uncooked

Assembly:
In large Dutch oven, melt butter. Add Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage and next six ingredients. Cook until sausage is lightly browned. Stir in bouillon and seasonings. Add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Prepare pasta nuggets according to package directions; drain. Stir into soup; heat through. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate leftovers.
(This is a Hillshire Farm recipe.)

Freezing Instructions:
Prepare as above, until directed to add water. Reduce water amount to just one cup. Spoon prepared mixture into a freezer bag, squeeze out all air and freeze. Prepare pasta. (I only cook it about 4 minutes when freezing it.) Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Allow excess water to drain off. Freeze in a separate freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Place soup mixture and 3 cups of water into a Dutch Oven. Bring to a bowl. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Stir pasta into soup; heat through. Enjoy!
(I actually forgot to add the pepper with the seasonings. So feel free to add it to your bowl of soup, if desired.)

Serving size: 6-8 servings