Italian Sausage Soup and The Mom Who Doesn't Love to Cook But Does it Anyway

Wow, here I am again. As promised, let's get some RECIPES going, shall we?!

First, I must explain the title of this post.
I want to answer the complaint that I hear from so many women my age that they don't know how to put together basic home cooked meals that aren't from a box or can. And aren't tacos, spaghetti or grilled cheese. While I do, in fact, make those things, and actually have amazing and easy recipes for them, in my opinion, there are other ways to feed your family good stuff that's not boring, not junk, and not difficult. But it is a matter of priority. Some people just don't make it a priority. I didn't know that. The funny thing is, and I've said this before; I don't love to cook! I don't really like to cook. But I like to eat good food and I learned some stuff growing up, and was able to carry it through to my family now and they appreciate eating real food, made by me, I think. I hope, if women saw that it doesn't have to be intimidating, they will enjoy doing it, at least for the sake of their family and finances. Because that's really where I fall. I see that it benefits my family and finances and also....I like to eat.
So, here goes nothin'. I'd like to eventually have a menu posted for the week with an ingredient/shopping list. That way, you REALLY don't have to think about it and it's done for you. For the first little bit, I think I'm just going to post one recipe at a time and will hopefully have posted the basic "recipe pool" after a while, that I tend to rotate. And from there, I can start doing a more in-depth weekly menu planner. That's the plan for now anyway. Baby steps for me since I've never done this whole blogging thing before.
Oh! And speaking of that...I know I'm totally not a great photographer AT ALL. So, here's my apologies in advance for not magazine quality food photos. But I will do my best to make them not look totally gross. :)

So, here we go: We'll start with kind of a fan favorite that I've gotten the most feedback from in the past. Mr. Wonderful's favorite. Italian Sausage Soup.
(By the way, all the recipes will be gluten-free, for the most part, I think. They are the same ones I've been making for years before going gluten-free. Now I just substitute the right kind of noodles or flour or bouillon or soy sauce, or whatever it may be. No biggie. So, I will be noting those differences along the way.)
What you need:
1-1.5 pounds mild italian sausage (casing removed) (Safeway's store brand is specifically labeled gluten-free, as are many)

2 cloves garlic (pressed) (If you have a question about pressing garlic, PLEASE don't hesitate to comment below your question or email me.)

2 chopped onions

1-2 cans diced tomatoes

1/2 C. red wine vinegar (Dade, a.k.a. Mr. Wonderful, likes it stronger, so I use more)
5 C. beef stock (pictured here is Organic Better Than Bouillon, from Costco. Based on the ingredient list, appears gluten-free. And low-sodium, which I love. Try it! Super yummy!)

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. oregano

3 T. parsley

3 zucchini chopped

2 C. bow tie (farfalle) noodles (For gluten-free, I used Trader Joe's brown rice fusilli noodles. My original picture at the top, is from making this before going gluten-free. It has the bowtie noodles, which I think are prettier in the soup, but haven't found any bowties that are gluten-free yet, not that the shape matters at all, really!)
How you make it:
Brown sausage in saucepan or whatever pot you are using to make the soup. Sauté garlic and onion in fat. Add tomatoes, vinegar, beef stock, basil, oregano and parsley. Simmer for 30 min. Add noodles and cook 10 min. Finally, add zucchini, and cook another 5 min. Serve with grated parmesean on top.