Soup and Salad

When it's cold outside, I think soup makes a great dinner. For a quick meal, soup and salad or soup and sandwiches are great. I recently tried this recipe for Pasta Fagioli that I found in Cooking Light. It has a good flavor and it's quick to make. It's also fairly low in fat (only 9.2 grams of fat per serving) and calories (319 per serving), so that's even better!

I substituted turkey sausage for the chicken sausage and I cut back on the cheese some as well.

Pasta Fagioli Soup

12 ounces chicken sausage, halved and sliced
3 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked small seashell pasta
2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini (about 2 zucchini)
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add sausage; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and pasta; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano and beans; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.