Cold day = soup

So this was the view from my front door last week:

So there is nothing else I can do but make soup.  A good hearty one preferably.

Martha Stewart's Sausage and Kale Soup looked like the perfect soup for the day....yet there was one problem:

No chicken sausage.
No kale.

But I gotta have soup...didn't you see that picture above, how can I not have soup on a snowy day like that?  So plan B: substitute (because there was no way I was getting out in THAT!)  So one look in the refrigerator and I had my alternates...turkey Italian sausage and baby spinach.  That settled that...soup was back on the menu boys! 

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Soup
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
5 waxy potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
12 oz (approx.) baby spinach
12 ounces (about 3 links) Italian turkey sausage

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook approx 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a skillet over medium heat crumble and cook turkey sausage, minus the casing, until brown and no redness remains.  Set aside.


In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add sausage and spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted.