Italian Sausage Soup

Brown in skillet:

2 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 to 1 lb of sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's regular sausage roll)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (I did NOT add onions, I used onion powder instead)

In VitaMix Blender, mix just enough to create small carrot chunks:

2 large peeled carrots
1 14oz can cut tomatoes, undrained
1 14 oz can of chicken broth (2 cups)

Put all in the crockpot and add:

2 stalks celery, chopped (I did NOT add this, I was out)
1 chopped garlic clove
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried sage
4-6 more cups chicken broth
1 14oz can kidney beans, undrained
1 more 14oz can cut tomatoes, undrained

Cook on LOW 5-6 hours. About 30 minutes before dinner, add 1 uncooked cup of elbow macaroni or pasta of your choice.

*This got rave reviews and the leftovers didn't last very long. I started the breadmaker at the same time, a great accompaniment to the soup! Just so you know, the 1 cup of dry pasta is enough, if you do more, it will take over the soup...you've been warned...