Pasta, Sausage and Bean Soup

The show must go on! The comfort food must continue! Here comes another soup recipe, although this one involves sausages (which I've never had in soup before), and the removal of sausage casings (which I have never personally done). This is one of epicurious' highly rated blue ribbon recipes, so I have high hopes. The reviewers say this is a pretty flexible recipe - some don't remove the sausage casings, some use bell peppers, some add spinach or kale, some switched the type of beans, and many used different varieties of sausage. I'm going to use fresh herbs, black beans, and maybe a different starch.

Serves 8

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausages, castings removed
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 celery stalk with leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
5 cups canned chicken broth
1 14 1/2-to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15- to 16-ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 cup elbow macaroni

Directions
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausages and sauté until beginning to brown, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, rosemary, crushed red pepper and sage. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with their juices and beans. Bring soup to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors blend, about 20 minutes.

Add macaroni to soup and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.