Tomorrow's Forecast....

a perfectly winter day filled with cold and rain. So, I highly recommend pulling out your stockpot and whipping up one of these babies!

The first, is a delicious Ham and Potato Soup. I have previously blogged about this fabulous dish and my addiction to Bennigan's Baked Potato Soup that started back in college.

The second is a new recipe found by my mother and craved by my husband. It is a perfectly hardy soup in need of some nice crusty dippin' bread! The recipe is for Italian Sausage Soup. The following makes 6 servings:

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
• 2 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Enjoy!