Pasta e Fagioli

Yum! This soup really hit the spot. I made several modifications so I'll link the original recipe here and post what I did below. Andy and I both liked the soup. My boys don't care for soups so they each had to take 1 bite. (Then they ate chicken nuggets). I served this with breadsticks and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top of our soup. Yum! I got to use my new Le Creuset 5 qt Dutch Oven and it was VERY full! Mom and Dad are going to enjoy some leftovers for dinner tonight. I'll be eating it for lunch twice this week and Andy and I will eat leftovers for dinner Wednesday night. This makes a big batch of soup!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter, divided
1 (12 oz.) package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 (28 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
1can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
48 oz. reduced-sodium beef broth
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
2 cups small dry pasta (I used ditalini)

Directions:Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the pot and brown, crumbling as it cooks. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and discard any excess grease (if you use chicken sausage you won't have any excess grease! Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, 8-10 minutes. Return the sausage to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes with juices, stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the beans, beef broth and tomato sauce to the pot. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer at least 30 minutes.
Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese.
adapted from: Annie's Eats