Creamy Italian Sausage Soup

This came from the land of Facebook and was soooo good. Notes from it when I made it: I tripled it so that we would have extra for us and extra to share. It did fine. I only did a rough chop on the spinach. I like bigger pieces of spinach, and I thought it did well. That mirepoix (carrots, onions and celery) needs a lot more than five minutes. Just cook until your onions start to get translucent. I put the Ditalini in like the recipe says though I saw that some people kept it separate and stirred it in as they served it so it wouldn't suck up all the juice in the fridge. Which it totally did but was still amazing. I don't want it not to take on any of the yummy broth flavor. So, not a big deal to me. 

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage (turkey or chicken sausage as a pork alternative)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup Ditalini pasta

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Cook the Sausage:

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the Italian sausage, breaking it into small crumbles, and cook until browned. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside.

Sauté the Vegetables:

In the same pot, add diced onion, minced garlic, sliced carrots, and chopped celery. Sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add Broth and Herbs:

Pour in the chicken broth, then stir in the oregano and basil. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Cook the Pasta:

Add the Ditalini pasta to the boiling broth. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender but still firm.

Make it Creamy:

Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the cooked sausage, heavy cream, and grated Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes, allowing the soup to thicken slightly.

Add Spinach:

Stir in the fresh spinach until it wilts into the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and Garnish with parsley if desired and parmesan.