I love when a good soup just comes together with ingredients you have in your fridge!  I had a few vegetables that I needed to use up this week, and I threw just about everything in the pot!

I love the taste of Italian sausage in soup.  Italian sausage has all sorts of amazing spices inside, so when it is browned and put into the soup, it adds a great flavor!  I decided to throw in some wild rice in the end, and it really made it a nice hearty soup!   Something you could easily eat for dinner with some nice crusty bread!

{Italian Sausage, Wild Rice, and Vegetable Soup}
serves 6

1 tbs olive oil
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
2 cups leeks, chopped
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup un-cooked wild rice
2 32 oz containers of chicken broth
1 1b Italian sausage, browned
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
parmesano reggiano, grated

directions

In a large pot, add olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add, celery, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, and stir for about one minute.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the Italian sausage.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium low, cover and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the wild rice is cooked.  Remove from heat, and add the browned Italian Sausage.  And, for a creamer soup, you can add the 1/2 cup heavy cream.

Top with grated parmesano reggiano cheese and serve.

Enjoy!