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.