Tortellini and Turkey Sausage Soup

Is it just me or could you too eat a whole container of Tortellini in one sitting? Tortellini is one of my favorite types of pasta, probably because it's filled with cheese. I was able to create a soup that would help cut my intake of pasta while adding spinach, onions, and turkey sausage to make it a more filling meal. From experience, I would say this meal is best if you eat it right away. It is still good if you have it as a left over, but it begins to lose it's flavors as the days go on.

Ingredients:

-Fresh Spinach (1/2 of package, but you can add more if you like a lot of spinach)
-4 cups of crushed tomatoes (I use tuttorosso crushed tomatoes with basil.)
-4 cups of light and fat free chicken broth
-9 Jimmy dean turkey sausage links sliced
-1 onion diced
-2.5 cups of whole wheat tortellini
-1/2 cup of reduced fat Parmesan cheese
-A pinch of salt and pepper
- A sprinkle of Italian seasoning

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt and pepper and place it on medium, being sure to stir often. In a frying pan, fry up the onions. Once the onions are done cooking and are transparent, add in the sliced sausage for less than a minute (just enough time for it to brown.) Combine the sausage and onions into the large pot with crushed tomatoes, etc. Take two medium sized pots. In one, fill half way with water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the tortellini and cook until they are puffy and float to the top. Strain and combine in large pot with crushed tomatoes, etc. In the other pot, place a boiling strainer in and fill with water just below the strainer. Fill with spinach and place on high. Once the spinach is cooked, strain and place in the large pot. Let all of the flavors blend in the large pot for about 20 minutes, then serve!

Nutrition facts per 1 cup serving size. (This recipe should make about 10 servings.)

Calories - 156
Carbs - 21
Fat - 4
Protein - 8
Sodium - 621
Fiber - 4