Sausage Minestrone

I found a recipe for some easy sausage minestrone, of course I added my own embellishments.  It tuned out really good, a lot like the Sausage Fajoli at Olive Garden, definitely a "make again".  We had it with sweet cornbread but it would have been great with some crusty garlic bread or some breadsticks!

Sausage Minestrone

Ingredients:

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (I used spicy, you could also do half spice/half sweet)
2 celery ribs, chopped*
2 med carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 oz) cans Italian style diced tomato
1 (10 oz) can Rotel
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 c chicken broth
1 c ditalini pasta
seasonings: garlic power, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. In dutch oven** over med heat, crumble and brown sausage with fresh vegetables, until no longer pink and veggies are tender; drain.
2. Stir in tomatoes, beans and broth. Season to taste. (I use at least 1/4 tsp each).  Bring to a boil.  
3. Add pasta and cook, covered until pasta is tender.

* Again this is something you could add onion to, if your family likes it

**You could also do this in a crockpot.  After browning sausage and vegetables, add everything except the pasta to the crockpot, cook on low for 3-4 hours.  Add pasta and cook until it becomes tender (probably another 45 min to an hour).