ITALIAN SAUSAGE HAMBURGER HELPER SOUP

Steps:

• Spray the inside of a stockpot, with a no-stick cooking spray.
• To the pot, add the sausage, and season it with a bit of black pepper, if desired. (Do not add salt to this recipe!).
• Brown the sausage over medium heat; stirring to break up the meat.
• While the sausage is browning, cook the frozen green beans in a microwave, till they are about three quarters of the way done; drain beans and set them aside. (I cooked the beans in an 850 watt microwave for 6 minutes, but stirring them after 3 minutes I also season the beans with a bit of black pepper).
• When sausage is done browning, then drain it in a colander.
• To the stockpot, lightly saute' the onions for a minute or two. (Add a bit of vegetable oil if need be).
• Add garlic to the pot, and saute' the garlic for about 1 minute.
• Place sausage back into the pot, then sprinkle the seasoning packet from the hamburger helper over all, and stir to coat the meat.
• To the pot add the following ingredients: the beef broth, one and a half soup cans of water, the stewed tomatoes, sliced baby carrots, zucchini, green beans, the Italian seasoning, and the rotini pasta that's included in the boxed hamburger helper.
• Bring soup to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer the soup for about 14 minutes.
• Remove soup from heat, stir the soup, and serve.
• If desired, sprinkle each bowl of soup with a bit of the parmesan cheese.
• Note: I noticed after cooking the soup, the carrots seemed to be slightly crisp. For those who'd prefer them to be a bit more cooked, I would do the following after adding the cooked meat, the seasoning packet, onion, garlic, broth, water, and just the carrots to the stockpot. Bring those ingredients to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer it for 5 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients, (the stewed tomatoes, zucchini, green beans and Italian seasoning) and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer the soup for about 14 minutes.