Italian Sausage Soup

Acini di pepe was on sale, and it jumped in my cart. (This is a small round pasta, much like couscous.) I wanted soup to go with my latest sourdough sandwich bread. I came up with Italian Sausage Soup with acini di pepe pasta.

Ingredients:

• 2 links hot Italian sausage (1/2 pound)
• 2 cans (~14.5 ounces) chicken broth
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced small
• 1/3 cup onion, diced small
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 2 large handfuls spinach, diced 
• 8 ounces acini di pepe (or other small pasta, like digalini)

Instructions:

1. Simmer the sausage in the chicken broth with the tomatoes, peppers, onions and beans for 15 minutes or so until the sausage is cooked through.
2. Remove the links from the soup, dice into peas sized pieces. Return the sausage pieces to the soup.
3. Simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or so.
4. While simmering the soup, cook the pasta to al dente in a separate pot of water. (
5. Strain the pasta as needed, and stir into soup.
6. Stir in diced spinach, and heat for another 3 or so minutes.

Carole's Notes:

Doug and I both liked this. The veggies made it 'healthy'.
The recipe is lightly adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12942/italian-sausage-soup/