This recipe is basically a tomato pasta sauce with beef
broth, carrots, zucchini and tortellini. It is delicious and economical. We fed our family of six and had enough
left over to freeze a meal for the following week. Two entire meals cost about $8.50 and included dumplings and corn
bread. I did use zucchini that I grew and dehydrated last summer which is not included in the price. The tortellini,
I buy at Market Basket for $1/lb on sale. You could save by purchasing cheaper sausage, but you will be compromising
the nutrition of this dish and also you will end up with a much greasier product.
1 pound sweet italiam sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
5 cups beef broth (we used our own homemade)
1 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 small can chopped tomatoes (I used tomato with chilis
because that is what I had on hand)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
8 ounces tortellini (I used cheese)
In a 5 quart stock pot, brown sausage. Drain sausage
reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings (we did not have a tablespoon of drippings, so I added a bit of butter here).
Saute onions and garlic in drippings. (Andy doesn't
like onions so I add a bit of broth here and blend it into a sort of onion paste. The recipe does not call for this
step, but it is worth trying even if you like onions.) Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano,
tomato paste and sausage. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
(Because I was using dried zucchini, I added them for this 30 minute simmer.)
Stir in zucchini. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Add tortellini and your favorite dumpling recipe during the last 10 minutes.
Email me if you want this on a ready to print word document.
It will print on a 4x6 index card.
