Sausage and Pasta Soup

Recipe adapted from For the Love of Cooking’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Sausage and Pasta Soup
Makes 4 Servings
Note: with it being 4 servings it makes it very soupy like – we like that and add noodles (baby wheels!) and eat it with a spoon.

1 tsp olive oil
3 links of chicken Italian sausage, diced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes and juices
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp splenda
3-4 fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Reduced Fat Parmesan cheese
8 oz. pasta (we used wheels!)

Add olive oil to slowcooker over high heat. Add sausage, onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Add garlic, and stir for 60 seconds. Add basil, fennel, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine well then add the sugar, tomato sauce and whole tomatoes and their juice; crush tomatoes with your hands. Cover sauce and cook on high for 3 hours. When you’re ready to eat, prepare the spaghetti per instructions. Taste meat sauce and re-season if needed. Add the fresh basil and parsley, stir and serve over your favorite pasta.

Nutritional Information: 380 calories, 63 carbs, 7 fat grams and 20 protein grams.

Review: So yes, a little high on the carbs but so filling! You could easily take the pasta down to 1 oz. or 1.5 oz. per serving (instead of 2) and just add more sausage! (maybe one more link!)