Sausage and Escarole Soup

Ingredients

• 7 links of sausage (sweet or hot, whichever you choose)
  
• Cooking spray
• 1 onion
• 6 cloves chopped garlic
  
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
  
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups escarole
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Romano or Parmesan cheese
• noodles (optional)
  

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble.

Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Continue cooking until ready to serve , about 1 hour.

Approximately 30 minutes before serving, stir in uncooked noodles.

Approximately 15 minutes before serving, stir in escarole, basil, and oregano.

Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle each serving with cheese.

*This can be cooked and served immediately, if you choose. Simply cook noodles while preparing soup. After bringing to a boil, let soup cook for 3 minutes, becoming thick. Then stir in noodles and herbs, and serve.