Italian Sausage Hamburger Helper Soup

1Spray the inside of a stock-pot, with a no-stick cooking spray.

2To the pot, add the sausage, and season it with a bit of black pepper, if desired. (Do not add salt to this recipe!)

3Brown the sausage over medium heat; stirring to break up the meat.

4While the sausage is browning, cook the frozen green beans in a microwave, till they are about three quarters of the way done; drain beans and set them aside. (I cooked the beans in an 850 watt microwave for 6 minutes, but stirring them after 3 minutes I also season the beans with a bit of black pepper).

5When sausage is done browning, then drain it in a colander.

6To the stockpot, lightly sauté the onions for a minute or two. (Add a bit of vegetable oil if need be.)

7Add garlic to the pot, and sauté the garlic for about 1 minute.

8Place sausage back into the pot, then sprinkle the seasoning packet from the hamburger helper over all, and stir to coat the meat.

9To the pot add the following ingredients: the beef broth, one and a half soup cans of water, the stewed tomatoes, sliced baby carrots, zucchini, green beans, the Italian seasoning, and the rotini pasta that's included in the boxed hamburger helper.

10Bring soup to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer the soup for about 14 minutes.

11Remove soup from heat, stir the soup, and serve.

12If desired, sprinkle each bowl of soup with a bit of the parmesan cheese.

13Note: I noticed after cooking the soup, the carrots seemed to be slightly crisp. For those who'd prefer them to be a bit more cooked, I would do the following after adding the cooked meat, the seasoning packet, onion, garlic, broth, water, and just the carrots to the stockpot. Bring those ingredients to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer it for 5 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients, (the stewed tomatoes, zucchini, green beans and Italian seasoning) and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer the soup for about 14 minutes.