Firo's (and Akihiko's) soup to live on
(Crossover 201X Firo, that is.)
Firo's never been a huge fan of cooking, but he's had a long time to pick it up. And it became a lot easier when you could pick up a lot of the ingredients pre-made.
This soup is somewhat complicated, but it isn't terribly hard to make. More importantly, it's hearty, keeps well, and contains all the major food groups - so even if you're living by yourself, you can make a lot and then eat it a few times over the course of the week when you're too busy to cook something else.
Makes 4-6 bowls, which may actually be a less number of meals depending on how hungry you are. If you're feeding more than four people (or two hungry people for a few days) you may want to double it.
Ingredients:
2 italian sausages 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic 2 medium zucchini, or one larger one 1 bell pepper 1 (~14oz) can chopped stewed tomatoes 1 (~14oz) can plain tomato sauce 2 (~14oz) cans of chicken broth, or one can and another of just water 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp thyme crushed red pepper to taste 1 package cheese tortellini (the kind you find in refrigerated packs in the grocery store)
Directions:
First, make certain you're equipped to do this! You'll need a large pot with a lid (very large if you're doubling) and something to put the leftovers away in. In a pinch you can just put the pot itself in the refrigerator, but that doesn't seal as well, so ideally you'd have a large tupperware container or something similar with a rubber lid that seals. A large serving bowl with plastic wrap will work too.
Once you've got that, you can actually start cooking. First, chop the sausage, onions, and garlic. I usually do the sausages in half once lengthwise and then in 1/2 inch or so slices, so they're in small bite-sized pieces. Onions should be in even smaller pieces.
Set your large pot on medium heat, and throw the sausage, onions and garlic in to cook until the sausage is browned. Be sure you're stirring it occasionally, but meanwhile, chop the zucchini and bell pepper. I usually do the zucchini in 6ths or 8ths lengthwise depending on the size, and then again in 1/2 inch slices, bell peppers in thin strips and then small.
When the sausage is browned, if it looks like there's a lot of grease in the bottom, try to drain some of it off. If it's not perfect it's okay, though.
Add everything else but the tortellini to the pot - liquids, vegetables, spices. You want there to be enough liquid to cover everything plus some - it's supposed to be a thick soup, but you'll need some spare liquid for the pasta to absorb later. You may need to add extra water if it looks like you don't have enough.
Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is mostly soft but still slightly crunchy.
Add the tortellini and cook for however the long the package says that takes to cook - usually around 8-10 minutes.
Serve!
When you're eating the leftovers, unless you're going to eat all of the rest, it's best to spoon it out into a bowl and heat it in the microwave that way rather than heating it all back up. Things start to deteriorate after multiple reheatings.