Italian Sausage Spinach Soup: This soup uses extra seasonings to make "homemade" Italian sausage - but you can skip that step and use store-bought sausage if you prefer.
Combine the ground meat and sausage spices in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
Warm a large pot over medium heat and add the ground meat. DO NOT STIR. Let it brown on one side, then break it apart with a spatula and cook through. Remove from pot and set aside, leaving a couple teaspoons of the grease in the pot if desired.
Add onions and carrots to the pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and dried herbs, and stir for about 20 seconds. Add the vinegar and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and mix well.
Add the remaining ingredients (except the spinach) - canned tomatoes, broth, cooked meat/sausage, and parmesan rind - to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the frozen spinach and cook for another 5 minutes or until warmed through. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
Portion out among 4 bowls, top with some additional parmesan cheese, garnish with fresh parsley, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil if you'd like, and serve with a hunk of crusty bread. Enjoy!
Notes
Try cooking Italian sausage soup with a parmesan rind for extra flavor! You won't be disappointed.Cook the sausage without moving on the first side before breaking it up into pieces. This way it gets nice and caramelized brown.Make a double batch so you have extras! It freezes great.You can simmer this on the stove for up to 2 hours, adding the spinach for the last 5-10 minutes. Feel free to use 12 ounces of fresh spinach instead of frozen. I would roughly chop it first!My favorite crusty bread is a great bakery sourdough, Mark Bittman’s overnight no-knead bread, or Darn Good Veggie’s Gluten-Free Artisan Bread.