Creamy Tomato Soup with Spinach and Sausage

The first time I made this soup it was nothing more than a raid of the pantry and frig. I had 3 turkey Italian sausage links and some spinach in the freezer. There was garden vegetable pasta sauce, chicken stock and egg noodles in the pantry. I had a little half and half about to expire. And what goes great with spinach and cream? Nutmeg! It all came together so easy and was amazingly delicious. Right away I knew I wanted to use bow-tie pasta the next time. But I really loved the garden vegetable pasta sauce. It has little pieces of veggie like onion, carrot and zucchini. Call them bonus veggies you don't have to chop. It was so good I knew I wanted to try to make it low sodium. There was so much flavor in this recipe we could lose a little salt. So by all means if you or family do not need to watch your sodium intake use your favorite brands. But if you would like to limit the sodium in your diet this post is for you. 

First things first I made my own Low Sodium Italian Sausage. I found unsalted chicken stock and low sodium marinara sauce. That is it! Very simple. If you have the sausage pre-made. This soup can be on the table in 30 minutes. It was delicious even without the added sodium. What I did miss was the little pieces of bonus veggies. I thought about adding some but I like the simplicity of the recipe. I love the nutmeg and red pepper flakes. Dear sister did not pick out the nutmeg she said it was well balanced. She had more questions about the Italian sausage meatballs. So be sure to check out that recipe too. I made a double batch tonight. I have some put away for my sodium restricted family member. I can't wait to see what they think.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Sausage and Spinach
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray
12 oz. Low Sodium Italian Sausage (click here for recipe)
4 cups unsalted fat free chicken stock
25 oz. jar low sodium marinara sauce
10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Pinch (1/16 tsp.) ground nutmeg
Pinch (1/16 tsp.) red pepper flakes
1-1/2 cups bow-tie pasta, dry
1/2 cup half and half (fat free)

Directions

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop sausage into small meatballs. Spray a 4 qt. soup pot or Dutch oven with olive oil cooking spray; add sausage and brown over medium high heat. Add chicken stock; deglazing pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to lift any brown bits. Add marinara sauce, spinach, nutmeg, red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Add pasta, reduce to a simmer and continue to simmer 12 minutes until pasta is al dente. Remove from heat, stir in half and half and serve.

Nutrition information per serving*: (calculated on 5 servings) Calories 310.1, Total Fat 10.5 g, Saturated Fat 3.1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g, Monounsaturated Fat 2.7 g, Cholesterol 48.4 mg, Sodium 338.6 mg, Potassium 412.5 mg, Total Carbohydrate 30.4 g, Dietary Fiber 2.5 g, Sugars 7.6 g, Protein 22.7 g.
WW P+ 8

*Information from the Sparkrecipes calculator. NI may vary depending on the brand or size of the ingredients used to prepare it.

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