Easy Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Macaroni Soup with Basil

Directions

Put homemade chicken stock ( in large heavy soup pot and start to heat.Add the dried basil, ground fennel, and 2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice and let the mixture simmer while you cook the sausage.Heat 1 T of olive oil in a heavy frying pan.Squeeze the sausage out of casings and cook until nicely browned, breaking apart with a metal turner as the sausage cooks.Add browned sausage to the soup pot.Add the other tsp. of olive oil to the frying pan if needed, then saute the onions for 3-4 minutes, or until they are starting to soften.Add the minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.Add the onion and garlic to the soup pot.Deglaze the frying pan with about 1 cup of stock from the pot, adding that back to the soup.Let this simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.Add the macaroni, stir, and continue to simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes more, or until the macaroni is soft.Stir in the chopped fresh or frozen basil and cook 5 minutes more.Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.