Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Includes everything I love about italian food; basil, tomatoes, garlic, pasta & yummy veggies. Oh, and of course, sausage!

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• This is based off a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I tweaked it a little bit, and this is how I like it:
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• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 32 0z. diced tomatoes
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
• 8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
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• In a large pot, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
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• Saute onions and carrots in drippings. Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
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• Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage.
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• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
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• Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini, basil and parsley.
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• Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.