Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

I made this for soup night yesterday. Almost everyone loved it, with several boys eating three helpings!

I had a recipe years ago from Southern Living, but couldn't find it in my files or online, so I tweaked/combined several others gathered from the internet. Here I'm recording "what I did" without figuring out how to make a smaller batch. That's your mission, if you choose to accept it...

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini
yield: 13-14 quarts (Hey, we only had 2 quarts left!)

2 pkg (13 oz each) Barilla 3-cheese (dry) tortellini
3.75 # turkey Italian sausage (2 pkg sweet, 1 pkg hot)
3 huge (grapefruit sized) onions, chopped
1/2 head (or more) garlic, crushed
3 red peppers, chopped
4 cans (28 oz each) petite diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 bottle red wine (could add more)
Beef broth as needed--sorry for the lack of detail. I think I used 3 boxes of Swanson reduced sodium broth and 4 cans of Campbells double-rich beef bouillon plus 4-6 cans of water.
4 huge carrots, sliced (good, but more would be okay, too)
4 stalks celery, sliced (good, but more would be okay, too)
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped (use 2 or 3 bunches next time)
Parmesan cheese for garnish, if desired

• Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside (maybe in a big plastic bag).
• Saute sausage until lightly browned.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
• Add red pepper and cook until softened.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, wine, and broth. Simmer at least 30 minutes. Check and adjust seasoning.
• About 15-20 minutes before serving (depending on thickness of veggies), add carrots and celery. Simmer until just tender.
• Just before serving, add parsley and pre-cooked tortellini (it will warm up quickly).
• Garnish individual bowls with Parmesan cheese and pepper (black or red), if desired.

Notes:

• The leftovers taste good, but are less spicy after the first day. Add a little crushed red pepper to your own serving before reheating, unless your whole family likes it hot. (In that case, use all hot sausage in the first place.)
• The leftovers taste good but look like stew rather than soup. The tortellini soak up the broth, and so they swell and fall apart, too.
• This can be made in advance, but DO NOT add the tortellini (or parsley) until the last minute, after the soup is already hot.
• (2/2012):  You can substitute other pasta for the tortellini.  Lately I've been buying Trader Joe's mini cheese ravioli (dry, not frozen).
• Most of the recipes I found suggested adding zucchini or spinach. I chose not to, partly out of respect for all the kids who come to soup night. Chopped frozen spinach could probably be hidden easily enough. Zucchini would have gotten soft and yucky sitting on the stove for the hour and half of our get-together. How's that for a good excuse? ;-)