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.

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California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is one of our favorite weeknight meals. Quick, easy, and really tasty.  I got the recipe off my friends blog and it got rave reviews from my husband who considers himself a BBQ chicken pizza connoisseur.    

California Pizza Kitchen BBQ-Chicken Pizza

Pizza Crust: (i like to buy the pillsbury refrigerated crust...super quick & easy! follow the instructions on the package for a crispy crust, otherwise it may turn out soggy.)

Topping:
1 boneless chicken breast
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 c. smoked gouda cheese, grated
1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion
2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut the chicken breast into bite-size cubes. Heat a small frying pan with olive oil in it. Saute chicken for about 3-4 minutes over medium high heat. Once the chicken is no longer pink, add about 1/4 cup BBQ sauce to chicken & let it continue to cook.

Spread 1/4 c. BBQ sauce on lightly browned pizza crust (b/c you pre-bake it to prevent having a soggy crust). Sprinkle 1/2 c. mozzarella and all of the Gouda cheese over the sauce. Add the chicken next and then the red onions. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c. mozzarella around the center of the pizza & top with cilantro.

Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted. so yummy! happy eating!

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