Easy Italian Wedding Soup

I love the ease of soups. One pot for cooking, one bowl for eating. Plus it's a comfort food, especially when the soup has pasta in it!
 
Ingredients

• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used turkey sausage)
• 1 lb Ditalini pasta, uncooked
• 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 32 oz of chicken broth
• 1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon onion powder (not salt!)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt!), divided in half
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• olive oil

Directions

Fill a stock pot with water and 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. Bring to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Add splash of olive oil to boiling water, to keep pasta from sticking.

While water is boiling/pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauce pot or dutch oven. Cook sausage with onion powder and remaining garlic powder, oregano and basil. Salt & pepper to taste.

Once sausage is browned, add spinach and stir to wilt. Add chicken broth and beans and bring to low boil. Turn down to simmer, add half of the cooked and drained pasta (reserve the other half for pasta salad or just to eat alone for lunch with some cheese sprinkled on top). Heat through, then taste and adjust salt & pepper accordingly.

Very yummy, especially with sweet Abernathy biscuits.

Enjoy!