Italian Soup

I bought a pound of sweet sausage intending to make biscuits and gravy. Only then it dawned on me that there are only two of us. And a POUND of sausage gravy was, perhaps, a bit much. Especially since my husband does not really understand the whole biscuits and gravy phenomenon. Which is why I was very happy to run across this recipe. I tweaked it to suit what we had in the house, and came up with a wonderful winter meal.

Makes: About 6 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 small white onion
3 cloves of garlic
4 small/medium tomatoes
7 tiny sweet bell peppers (about 1 regular bell pepper)
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups water
1 cup uncooked pasta
1 14-oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2 cups fresh spinach, washed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
HEAT a stockpot over medium heat
ADD sausage
COOK through

While the sausage is cooking:
MINCE onion
DICE tomatoes and peppers

ADD minced onion to cooked sausage
COOK until onion is transparent

MINCE garlic (or use a garlic press)
ADD to sausage and onion
COOK an additional 2 minutes

ADD broth, water, tomatoes, peppers, pasta, chickpeas and seasoning
BRING to a BOIL
COVER and REDUCE HEAT to a simmer

COOK until pasta is done
STIR in spinach, let it wilt
STIR in Parmesan cheese

REMOVE from heat and serve.

Enjoy!

My Thoughts
1. Soup is another of those things that I grew up thinking of as "hard" to cook. This recipe puts the lie to that idea. This is a 30-45 minute dinner depending on how quick you are at prep work.

2. It is also absolutely delicious. I tend to prefer stews to soups, but all the chunky vegetables, pasta, and sausage make this a very satisfying soup.

3. My husband salted his to taste at the table, but I thought it was just right.

4. We served this with beer bread. Yum!