Zucchini Soup

We are in the midst of our first winter weather advisory here in the Northwest Suburbs which had me craving a big pot of soup.  Zucchini Soup is one of the first homemade soups I made when I first starting cooking.  It is very simple, full of flavor and refreshingly healthy.  Zucchini is on sale at Sunset and Dominick's right now, but can be found in abundance in all grocery stores.  It is the perfect quick, low calorie dinner on a cold night like tonight!  

ZUCCHINI SOUP

2 pounds Italian Turkey sausage

2 cups chopped celery

2 pounds zucchini, roughly chopped

2 (28 ounce) cans Italian diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup chopped onions

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 bell peppers, diced

 Parmesan cheese for garnish

Remove casing from sausage.  Roll into small balls.  Brown sausage in a large stockpot or Dutch oven.  Drain off excess fat.  Add celery and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, seasoning, sugar, garlic powder, onions, salt, oregano and basil.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Add peppers.  Cover and cook 10 minutes more.  Top with Parmesan cheese.