DIY Pinto Bean Soup

This has been a cold winter for us here in Northern California. A lot of gray days too! So, we're thinking what would be a good comfort food that's nice and warming on a cold winter day. We've made a lot of stew type meals with winter veggies so we thought soup would be a good choice. We like to put nourishing veggies in our soups plus we like lots of good flavor. Here's a recipe that hits on all the things we were looking for. It turned out really tasty, healthy and warming too! This is not a vegetarian meal but if you are a vegetarian the soup would be great without the kielbasa. You could also substitute the kielbasa for the sausage of your choice. It's really simple to make too!

SERVES:              4
PREP TIME:         10-15 minutes
COOK TIME:         1 hour 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans pinto beans
1 bunch organic carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1 large red onion, diced fairly large
3/4 pound kielbasa
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
4 cups organic, low sodium chicken broth
1.5 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
A 5 ounce bag of baby spinach

PREPARATION:
1. Saute kielbasa in a 5 quart Dutch oven for about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and onion and saute another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 3 minutes or so.
2. Add the chicken broth, beans, Italian seasoning, pepper and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. 
3. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour and a half. Add the spinach the last few minutes. The soup is ready when the spinach is wilted.

PLATING:
Serve the soup in heated soup bowls. 

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita