Italian Soup (soooo yummy!)

Imagine it's a bit cooler out, the season for comfort food. You're short on time, really don't want to go out to the store, and need to throw together something for the family that just hits the spot. I found this soup recipe ages ago and have since modified a bit to fit our family's preferences. It has been such a hit I routinely have it when we have company over! We almost always have the ingredients sitting around. I use 3 burners of the stove simultaneously to get this meal done as fast as possible (30 min).

Ingredients

garlic, basil, oregano, ground pepper 
2 cups pasta (spaghetti, elbow macaroni, you name it--it works!)
Italian sausage (this can be substituted with ground turkey)
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
olive oil
1 onion
Parmesan cheese

On burner 1: Cook the Italian sausage with some olive oil. If your using ground turkey, cook it with a healthy amount of garlic, oregano and pepper to flavor it. Drain the fat. (Cooks in 5-10 minutes)

On burner 2: Meanwhile, dice your onion (I use a food processor to spare my eyes), throw it in the soup pot with some olive oil and saute it until the onion is clear. Then add spices (I always throw in a ton, but add your preference). 

On burner 3: Cook your pasta.

Add the tomato paste into your soup pot and cook for another few minutes until it turns into a rusty color. Add in your cooked Italian sausage, can of tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Feel free to add another dash of oregano or garlic.

Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes or so (this will give you time to heat up some garlic bread!). Your pasta should be done now. I DO NOT add the pasta into the soup pot because pasta absorbs so much liquid it become gross from sitting in soup when we have leftovers. Therefore, I ladle the soup over the pasta when serving only, and store the pasta separate.

Get a bowl, scoop in some pasta, ladle soup over the top, and throw some Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread, if you want. Enjoy!