A big pot of yummy comfort for the holiday season

Tis the season to be busy, and lately my kitchen has been feeling it.

Not the cookie baking or turkey roasting. I head out of town for all of that. No, during the holidays my kitchen tends to get a little lonely.

Between all of the traveling, holiday parties, shopping, Nutcracker watching and various other festivities, I have little time to get behind the stove and try anything too adventurous.

But a girl has to eat, doesn't she?

So in lieu of some interesting and exotic menu, tonight I decided to whip up an old favorite - minestrone soup.

A few years ago I adapted a recipe that involves Italian sausage (really the heart of its yumminess). It may be a little off point for the blog (these days, most of it is). But it is delicious, comforting and filling. Oh, and incredibly easy. A pot of it will last me days and the rest freezes well so I'll have plenty to eat until I have time to cook something more interesting.

Oh and by the way, this is an extremely flexible dish if you want to adjust the flavors and spices to meet your tastes.

Without further ado ...

The Best Ever Minestrone Soup

2 tbsps. olive oil
5 links of hot Italian sausage
3 medium yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic chopped
5 carrots, chopped
5 celery stalks, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
3 tbsps. dried thyme
3 bay leaves
salt
pepper
1 fourteen ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cans cannellini beans
1 bag spinach

What to do:

Heat olive oil in a pan. Remove casings of sausage, break into chunks and add to the pot. Cook until the sausage is done all the way through. Remove the sausage (leaving the oils) and put it on a paper towel-covered plate to drain.

Add onions, carrots, celery and zucchini to the pot and cook until soft. Add the spices and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the tomatoes.

Rinse and drain the three cans of beans and using an immersion blender puree about half of them with about two cups of water. Add the pureed beans and more water (as desired - depends how soupy or stewy you want your minestrone... I like mine more stewy). Bring to a boil.

Once the soup has boiled, add the sausage, the remaining beans and the spinach. Let simmer for a bit. The soup will get yummier the longer it sits! This is great with some fresh grated parmesan cheese on top!