Foodie Fridays: Sausage White Bean Soup

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Life is rather chaotic at our house right now as we continue to unpack moving boxes (we ended up moving over 1,000 items so this could take a while!).  Our Thanksgiving meal was very simple and relied a lot on store-bought prepared foods - I joked to my husband that we would be eating a very retro Thankgiving dinner as the menu included canned Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, Stovetop stuffing, and his favorite green bean casserole (made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup of course as he would not have it any other way).  It was still enjoyable, because as my husband said, all the right flavors were there, from the precooked turkey breast with gravy from a jar to the supermarket bakery pumpkin pie with canned whipped cream!

We had our first hard frost here a couple of weeks ago, and I quickly went out to harvest my fall crop of lettuces, spinach, and some surprisingly late season basil before they froze.  I made my favorite pear salad several times with the baby lettuces, and was looking for a recipe that would use up some of the spinach and basil.  This Sausage White Bean Soup recipe caught my eye - it is easy, quick, and hearty, which makes it a great option for colder weather meals.  If you are looking for an alternative to turkey soup, try this one (although in my version I did use turkey sausage!).

Sausage White Bean Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
1 12-oz. package Italian sausage, casings removed (I used Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles)
32 oz. chicken stock
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 pinch ground red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 lb. fresh spinach
2 T. red-wine or sherry vinegar

Add the olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat.  Sauté the onion until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook one minute longer.

Shape the sausage into bite-sized meatballs and add to the onion mixture (no need to shape sausage crumbles - just toss them into the pot).  Cook until the sausage is browned on the outside, about 6 minutes (or just cook the sausage crumbles until heated through).

Add the chicken stock, beans, red pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Stir in the spinach and simmer until wilted.  Add the vinegar and season with more salt and pepper to taste if needed.  Serves 4-6.