Bean And Sausage Soup (Recipe)

Sausage lends hearty flavor to this Italian-flavored soup.  For best results, add the sausage near the end of the cooking time, as indicated, just long enough to heat it through.  For color, you can brown the sausage first in a skillet, if you like, and drain off the excess fat, but it isn't necessary.

Ingredients

1 cup dried small white beans, rinsed, drained, and picked over

1 (28-ounce) can diced peeled tomatoes

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed but not drained

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound turkey sausages, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

Seasoned salt

Steps

1.  In a 4 to 5 quart electric slow cooker, mix together the beans, tomatoes with their liquid, broth, onion, garlic, spinach, basil, and pepper.

2.  Cover and cook on the low heat setting 8 to 9 hours, or until the beans are tender.  Stir in the turkey sausages and add seasoned salt to taste.  Cover and cook 30 minutes longer, or until the sausages are heated through.