This is a Crock of ... Italian Sausage Soup

Oh my, the weather turns quick, doesn't it? Woke up this morning to frost on the grass and a chilly house. It feels like the perfect time to stir up a batch of hearty soup. This recipe for Italian Sausage Soup is modified from a recipe courtesy of the October 2011 edition of Taste of Home magazine(pg 64).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bulk Italian sausage
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 gloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 7 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 15 oz cans cannellini or white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste

Directions:

1. In a saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, then drain.
2. In the same saute pan, cook the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. They'll cook more in the crock pot.
3. Next, add all the ingredients from steps 1 and 2 to the crock pot and stir in all the remaining ingredients.
4. Simmer low and slow in your crock pot for several hours. As temperatures vary with each crock pot, I recommend stirring and checking for doneness hourly.
5. Serve hot with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.

You can add a cup of small pasta, a bunch of chopped kale or spinach, cook until tender, and make it even better!