Easy Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Macaroni Soup with Basil

Ingredients

• 8 cups homemade chicken stock
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. ground fennel
• 2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice
• 1 T + 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 pkg. hot or sweet turkey Italian sausage
• 1 onion, chopped into small dice
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 C dry whole wheat macaroni
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional

Directions

1. Pour the homemade chicken stock into a large, heavy soup pot and set it over the heat. Stir in the dried basil, ground fennel, and 2 cans petite dice tomatoes with their juice, then let the soup base simmer while you work on the sausage.
2. Warm 1 T of olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Remove the sausage from its casings and cook it until well browned, using a metal turner to break it into pieces as it cooks. Transfer the browned sausage to the soup pot.
3. If the pan looks dry, add the other tsp. of olive oil. Cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, just until they begin to soften, then stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the soup pot.
4. Pour about 1 cup of stock from the soup pot into the frying pan and scrape up the browned bits, then return that liquid to the soup. Reduce the heat and let everything simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.
5. Stir in the macaroni and keep the soup simmering for 15-20 minutes more, until the pasta is tender. Add the chopped fresh or frozen basil and cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.