Originally posted January 9, 2017. Photo from August 29, 2020 – This Italian Sausage Soup recipe by MyRecipes is for one of our family favorites. I love this soup because there are not a lot of ingredients and there is no chopping if you use scissors to cut the basil like I do! I sometimes use whole wheat orzo to make it more healthy (in the photo I used regular ditalini) and I serve it with my family’s favorite salad (mixed greens or arugula, parmesan shavings, salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon and a splash of olive oil) and a few slices of crusty bread for those in my family who still don’t think that soup is actually dinner. I am looking forward to having the leftovers from Saturday for lunch today. 
A few additional tips with this recipe:
1.) I find I need more broth than is called for – usually around 3-4 cups instead of the 2 cups listed. I also sometimes have to add more to leftovers (when there are any) since the pasta absorbs the liquid. I have even used some water in a pinch, especially if I only had regular and not low sodium broth. (When reheating the leftovers, I almost always use water.)
2.) I like orzo instead of shell pasta and whole wheat is fine.
3.) Kale can be substituted for spinach if you prefer.
4.) Pecorino Romano is my favorite cheese for this.
5.) I often skip the basil because I am lazy and if I do use it I cut it in ribbons with scissors so I don’t have to dirty a knife and a cutting board. 
6.) If your family is more than 4 people, I would recommend you double the recipe.