Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Soup

When it comes to my slow cooker, I always seem to use it when I'm home, and rarely do I ever cook anything on the low setting for a long period of time. Instead, I set it on high for a few hours in the afternoon and it's ready at dinnertime. This week, I've been helping out at the flower shop for the upcoming holiday and I haven't had a lot of energy once I come home for preparing dinner. It seemed like a perfect time to really utilize my slow cooker.

I was browsing some slow cooker recipes for inspiration, and I came across one for a smoked sausage and bean soup. It made me think of a soup my awesome neighbor brought us right after we had Beckett. Besides the sausage and beans, her's had tomatoes and spinach... and I can't remember what else. I decided to try come up with my own take made in the slow cooker and wound up with one really tasty soup. From the slow cooking, the texture of the sausage was less firm than I'm used to, but it didn't bother us like I thought it might've. It was so nice to come home from work on a gloomy, rainy day and have the house smelling wonderful, and a pot of this hearty, extremely flavorful soup all ready for us.

Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Souparound 4 servings
I pretty much never use frozen spinach, but I had some in the freezer that I bought for a recipe and didn't use. Since my fresh spinach supply for the week had already been depleted, I decided to give it a try. I still would've preferred fresh, but the frozen worked nicely in this. If using fresh, I would just coarsely chop it (removing any thick stems) and stir it in at the end and give it a few minutes to wilt.
2 large carrots, sliced 1/3 inch thick
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, smashed and coarsely shopped
1 (14 oz) pkg smoked turkey sausage, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 (15.5 oz) can of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 parmesan rind1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
kosher salt and pepper
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
grated parmesan, for serving

Combine all ingredients, except the spinach and grated parmesan, in crock of the slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Stir in thawed spinach and give a few minutes to heat heat through. Serve topped with grated parmesan, if desired.