It's getting cold outside!

This time of year I really get an itch to hang out in the kitchen. I do enjoy cooking & eating, I just don't enjoy spending countless hours in the kitchen when I could be doing way more awesome things.

I busted out my white binder full of recipes I have collected over time. I am one for finding a recipe & changing it up since I don't really like to follow them either. Ya, I know, seems silly. But really, if I come across a yummy recipe & it's full of ingredients I don't like or eat, then I just start subbing in the items I do like. So therefore I am creating my own recipes. Oh yeah, most of the time I don't really measure either. For example, if a recipe called for 1 cup of chopped carrots & I peeled 2 large carrots & chopped them up & it measured out to 1.5 cups, I don't care, I will use it all. You catch my drift!!

Anyway, it's getting cold outside & I like to eat warm comfy foods when it does. That doesn't always go along with my goals for health & fitness so I compromise. In this last week I have made this recipe twice & it was a hit in my house so I figure I better share!

This recipe started as a recipe from a magazine. I tore the page out & over time have altered it so much, it a whole new recipe.

I call it: Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage Minestrone Soup and it is AH~MAZING!!

Ingredients:
6 C. Organic reduced sodium vegetable stock
1 can (15.5oz) Organic Diced Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Organic, no salt added Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp Organic Olive Oil
4 links, True Story Organic Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, sliced in rounds
1.5 C. Organic yellow onion, chopped (about 1 small)
2 cloves Organic garlic, minced
1 C. Organic Celery, chopped
1 C. Organic Carrots, chopped
1 C. Dry Quinoa noodles
1 tsp dry oregano
1 can (15.5 oz) Organic Garbanzo beans or Kidney beans, rinsed
2 C. Organic Zucchini, chopped
2 C. Organic baby Spinach, fresh

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet on Medium heat. Add sausage & brown.
2. Add tomato paste, cook about 5 minutes until brown.
3. Add onions, celery, garlic, carrots & oregano. Cook about 5 minutes longer.
4. Pour vegetable stock, diced tomatoes & dry noodles into a large pot. About 4 quarts in size.
5. Add skillet contents to pot & turn to med heat. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or until carrots are soft.
6. Add zucchini, beans & spinach. Turn to high heat for about 5 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Serve with optional items: fresh bread, parmesan cheese, dollop of pesto sauce.

Serving size is 1.5 cups.

21 Day Fix side notes: I measured out the veggies into a Green container, the sausage into a Red & the beans & pasta in half a yellow. You can measure out to your specific needs.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!! Leave a comment & let me know. Thanks for stopping by.