Choc Full of Veggies Soup

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to study abroad my junior year in college.  I spent a semester living in Rome, Italy, and it was during that time that my interest and love for cooking started.  I had three other roommates, two of them were excellent cooks and would teach me some of the basics of cooking.  It is easy when in Rome because the Italian lifestyle and shopping norms make it very convenient to shop fresh and shop often.  There are fresh farmers markets each morning where you can but all kinds of meats, breads, produce and cheeses.  Che Bello!

Occasionally when I wanted a healthy and very easy meal, I would go to the supermarket and buy their frozen veggie mix sold as vegetable soup.  Here, I made my version, a mixture of frozen, fresh and canned vegetables with some chicken sausage added for protein and pasta added for carbs and to fill me up :-) Without further ado, the recipe:

Choc Full of Veggies Soup
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion diced
1 zucchini chopped into bite sized pieces
2 yellow squash chopped into bite sized pieces
2 cups broccoli, stems removed and separated into small pieces
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small package Italian style frozen vegetables
32 oz vegetable or chicken broth
1 package Italian style chicken sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup small shells pasta
Shredded Parmesan


Directions:
Heat large pot over medium high heat.  Saute garlic, onion, zucchini and squash about 4 minutes.  Add broccoli and continue to saute for 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, frozen veggies, broth and sausage and bring to a boil.  Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or until flavors have developed and vegetables are soft.

While soup cooks, boil pasta, drain and set aside.

To serve, put scoop or pasta in bowl and top with soup, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese - buon appetito!