Sausage with Cheese Tortellini Soup

2 slices bacon, diced (optional) 2 C. onion, chopped (I use dried diced onions, just a bit) 3/4 lb. Italian sausage, browned and drained carrots (I use baby carrots or chop a few regular carrots up, whatever) 8 C. beef broth 2 cans diced tomatoes 2 T. fresh basil, minced 1/2 C. fresh parsley, minced 1 clove garlic, pressed 1/4 t. cayenne pepper 1/4 t. pepper 1 pkg. frozen cheese tortellini 2 C. fresh spinach leaves, torn In stockpot, sauté bacon and onion until golden. Add carrots, and cook until just softened. Add sausage, beef broth, tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. In a separate stockpot, cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain. Add tortellini and spinach leaves to soup, then simmer until tortellini is heated through, but do not boil. Garnish with fresh parmesan and croutons. This is a really forgiving recipe. I have added and left out vegetables, left out the tomatoes, used chicken broth instead of beef broth, and used a dry Italian herb mixture instead of fresh spices, and it all turns up edible. We are a smaller family, and it's hard to feed my kids soup and be clean, so I pour half of the soup into a bowl before adding the tortellini and spinach and cool it, then freeze it in a freezer bag. This makes for a much thicker soup, and I can buy an extra bag of tortellini and have a second meal later in the month. We also top the soup with just grated cheese, because I never have parmesan and croutons in the house.