ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP

Since fall is here and the thermometer has dipped below 90 degrees, I started to think about making soup.  Granted, it's still a wee bit hot to be eating soup for dinner, but I attempted anyway.

This recipe is great because it doesn't use chicken or beef.  And if your dinners look like mine, they usually include one or the other!  It was extremely easy to make, took hardly any prep time, and the hubs and I decided that we would definitely be making it again in the future... once it cools off a little more outside.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP

What you need:

• 1 lb Italian sausage, sliced  (I used mild)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) "less sodium" chicken broth
• 1 soup can of water
• 1 can (15 oz)  cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup rotini pasta, uncooked
• 1.5 cups baby spinach leaves

Cut up the sausage, onion, and garlic, and throw 'em all in a pan with oil.  Cook until the sausage is done and the onions are see-through (about 10 minutes). 

Move your sausage, onion, and garlic into a large pot, and add in the broth, water, beans, and tomatoes.  Bring this to a boil, and then stir in your pasta.  Cook until pasta is tender (about 8 minutes) and then remove from heat.  Stir in spinach.  Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve with crackers!

When I cut up my Italian sausage, I didn't take off the casing and what I ended up with were little balls of sausage that appeared to be wearing belts (from where the casing had shrunk).  It's up to you whether you want your sausage to be wearing belts or not!

I ended up using almost 2 cups of pasta, because 1 cup looked so lonely floating around in that big pot.  I also broke up the stewed tomatoes into smaller chunks before serving.  When dinner was all said and done, there was a lot less spinach in the pot, so I went ahead and added in more for leftovers - the soup was still hot enough to wilt the leaves.  In retrospect, I could have just cooked the sausage, etc. in the large pot and saved on some dish washing!