Minestrone with Italian Sausage

I like minestrone. Add Italian sausage and I LOVE minestrone! :) This was hearty and delicious. I added extra sausage (because it's awesome) and and extra zucchini since I had one from my garden I needed to use up. Obviously you could make this without the sausage to make it vegetarian, which is a little different than my slow cooker version. I got this out of Betty Crocker Annual Recipes 2005 recipe book. Serve with warm bread. Serves 6.

Minestrone with Italian Sausage

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/2 c onion, chopped
1 c carrot, peeled and chopped (about 2 medium)
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp garlic, minced
3 14-oz cans beef or chicken broth
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15-oz can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 c uncooked small elbow macaroni
1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4" slices
1 c frozen cut green beans or 1 14-oz can, rinsed and drained

1. Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook sausage, onion, carrots, basil and garlic in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink.
2. Stir broth, tomatoes and great northern beans into sausage mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in macaron, zucchini and green beans; heat to boiling. Cook over medium-high heat 5 yo 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are hot and noodles are cooked.