A Warm & Satisfying Soup

I love making soup, and I make soup out of virtually anything. Today was a bit chilly and I was doing some house cleaning so I wanted something warm and easy. I took some leftovers from my fridge and some staples from my pantry. It was awesome!

Easy Turkey Sausage Soup

1 cup jarred spaghetti sauce (whatever you have on hand, I had basil and garlic)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon dried porcini mushrooms
1 spicy turkey sausage link, pulled out of casing
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (or more if you like)
1 cup elbow macaroni
dried herbs (use what you like, I used rosemary, basil, oregano, and my favorite fennel)
fresh ground pepper
large pinch kosher salt
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Put about a quart of water in a pan and add dried mushrooms. Bring to boil and add sausage and let simmer. Break into smaller chunks if needed. Add garlic, onion, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, and herbs. Bring back to a boil and add macaroni. Cook until pasta is tender and the soup has reduced a bit. Drizzle on some olive oil and serve hot.

Serves 2 or 1 large, large portion.

It's so simple to make, and it's basically having pasta, sauce and meat, but you've added water and enriched with a little more tomato paste. You could add a bit of leftover red wine as I think the slight fruitiness would be tasty.

It's filling and very satisfying on a cool day.