This is the greatest and best soup in the world.

For real. Not a tribute. I love this soup. A.'s mom makes it every time we visit them, and I just inhale it. Not sure where the recipe originated.

Italian Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

• 1  lb italian sausage (I used mild. Obviously. Spicy would probably be tasty, too, if you have bowels of steel, or at least, happy healthy guts.)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2  14 oz cans beef broth
• 1  14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper (I used more)
• 1  14.5 oz can Northern beans, undrained
• 2 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups spinach, packed, rinsed, torn (I took this to mean fresh and packed tightly into the cup. I did and it turned out nice.)

In stockpan or dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Drain fat, stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (I didn't add any salt and it was fine, probably because of the salt in the broth.) Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Cover tightly allowing heat from soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes or so.

Despite the fact that this is probably not a good flare-up soup, what with all the sausage and roughage and general veggie presence, it is perfect for a chilly evening because it. Is. DELICIOUS. Enjoy.