I actually pulled this together without following a recipe at all, and it’s very rare that I come up with something new on my own that is something I’ll actually make again, so I decided to share. Some measurements are approximate because I didn’t measure anything, but one of the nice things about soup is that it is generally pretty forgiving of modifications. If you like peppers and want to slice them up and add them in with the onions, do it. If you’d like to use chopped tomato instead of tomato sauce, do that, too. This will serve 3-4.

1 pound package of Italian sausage, thawed. If you get the links, remove the skins.
1/4 cup minced onion
4 small-medium cloves of garlic
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 dashes thyme
2 pinches of dried rosemary, crumbled into smaller bits
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained with all water pressed out
1 2.25 oz can sliced and pitted black olives, drained
1 8 oz can “no salt added” tomato sauce
2 heaping tbsp basil pesto sauce/spread (The stuff that comes in the small jar by Classico is perfect, just make sure you stir the contents of the jar really well so you don’t just get the oil)
2-3 cups uncooked pasta, like bowtie or spiral
about 16 oz low-sodium chicken broth – use more or less depending how thick you like your soup. Cut the sodium where you can because the sausage is salty.

1. Get your sausage and crumble it into small pieces into a dutch oven or similar sized pot. Brown it over medium to medium-high heat.

2. While the sausage is cooking, get your onion, garlic, and seasonings together. I use a garlic press, but if you don’t have one of those just peel the paper off each clove of garlic and mince them as small as you can. Personally, I thought I could have used a little more garlic, but everyone else liked the soup just as it was. I put the onion, garlic, and other seasonings into a small bowl so that it’s ready to just dump everything in when the time is right.

note – The sausage that I used was surprisingly low in grease, so I didn’t drain the sausage when it was done cooking because I needed just a bit of grease to saute the onion, garlic, and seasonings. However, if yours is very greasy, drain it. Also, feel free to rinse the meat off with water to help get rid of excess grease.

When the sausage is just about done browning, dump in your onions, garlic, and seasonings and mix well. Let those saute so the onion gets tender.

3. Add the tomato sauce, pesto, olives and stir. Once you get the tomato sauce in there, make sure the heat is set to medium-high.

4. Start adding chicken broth, and add the pasta. I got the pasta in there and used just enough chicken broth to make sure everything was covered, you can add more if you like your soups with more fluid. Mine came out more like a stew because there wasn’t a lot of fluid left by the time this was done cooking.

5. As the pasta cooks, get your spinach ready to add in. If you use the frozen kind, an easy way to drain out the excess fluid is to put the spinach in a colander and use your hand to press the spinach against the colander.

6. When the pasta is nearly done, add in the spinach and mix well. At this point, if the soup is too thick for your liking, add more chicken broth. Continue to cook the soup until the pasta is done and all ingredients are heated through.

Garnish with a little parmesan cheese if you like, but it’s good without it, too.

I would have added a picture, but I was too busy stuffing my face to think of it, and Boyfriend took the last of the leftover soup in to work with him yesterday.

I think the addition of a simple, fresh salad and some warm bread would make this a complete meal.

(One day, I’d like to try making this with fresh herbs and spinach instead of the dried and frozen stuff.)