My Imperfect Kitchen

Italian Sub Soup!

Ingredients

Soup

2 TBLS olive oil
One pkg Italian Sausagewith casings removed. You can use either Sweet or Hot sausage. (I usually buy one pkg Hot and one pkg Sweet, then I use a combination of the two and freeze the others to use for soup next time!), about 5 links
1 1/4lb piece of pepperonicut into small dice
1 ham steak1/2 to 3/4 lb, diced (Left over ham works well too – you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups)
1 green bell peppercored, seeded, quartered and then diced to match the ham cubes.
1 yellow oniondiced
2cloves fresh garlicfinely minced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2oz boxes chicken broth32each
1/2oz of a 16box of Gemelli pastauncooked. (Save the other half for next time you make soup!)
1tsp of each: dried basildried oregano and dried thyme.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat a large soup pot to medium high. Drizzle the olive oil around the bottom of the pan and toss in the sausage. Brown and crumble the sausage. When it’s brown, add pepperoni and ham. Cook for a few minutes, then add your veggies. Cook until the veggies just start to get soft. Add the garlic and continue to cook for about a minute longer. Add the tomatoes and use the juices to scrape up the browned meaty bits on the bottom of the pot. Season the tomato/veggie/meat mix with seasonings and salt and pepper. Stir well, then add chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook for 10 minutes.
While the pasta cooks in the soup, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for one minute. Regulate the heat carefully so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the bread cubes, toss to coat and continue stirring and toasting them for about five minutes. Season the croutons with grated parmesan.
Ladle soup into big bowls and top with seasoned croutons! This recipe makes a lot, so serve it with friends and a great bottle of wine!