Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

This is my all time favorite minestrone type soup. My momma made this for the first time when we were young teenagers. My brother and I used to sneak into the refrigerator the next morning and eat all the sausages we could find. Speaking of leftovers, you could make this a day ahead and reheat for lunch or supper. While I have frozen it before, the beans can get a little mushy when thawed and reheated. Also, you can easily make this a vegetarian soup by leaving out the sausage and substituting vegetable stock for beef broth. I've done this and it was a huge hit!

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage links, links cut into 1" pieces
1 cup chopped onion
8 cups beef broth
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup sliced leeks
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
28 oz can whole tomatoes, undrained & cut cup
16 oz can great Northern beans, undrained
2 cups sliced zucchini
16 oz pkg Green Giant frozen Pasta Accents Garlic Seasoning
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese

In 6 quart Dutch oven, cook sausage and onions until onions are tender. Add beef broth, cabbage, leeks, celery, basil, oregano, thyme, tomatoes & beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 5 minutes more. Add Pasta Accents and cook 5-10 minutes more or until veggies are tender. Serve with cheese and crusty bread!

This is an old recipe and we cannot find the Green Giant Pasta Accents anymore. However, you can replace this with the new Green Giant bag of Pasta, Broccoli, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas and Garlic sauce.

Yummy!