Crockpot Minestrone Soup

I would like to thank everyone for their patience while I took some time to collect my thoughts and get back into the kitchen. My plan for the fall will be to post new delicious recipes every Sunday and Wednesday. This will allow me some more time to perfect and bring you new delectable recipes. 

Minestrone Soup is not one of my family recipes but I personally love soup. Soup helps to warm you from the inside out and when fall starts to become cooler nothing is more enjoyable. This recipe is courtesy of Our Paleo Life and I was inspired to make this when a friend post the delectable picture of a steamy bowl of this soup on instagram!

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 sweet potato, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 zucchini squash, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz chicken stock

28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

½ cup frozen spinach

2 bay leaves

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp sea salt

1-1/2 lb ground pork sausage

Place the olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, onions, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the entire can (including juice) of diced tomatoes. Add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw and drain, just add it frozen). Add in the oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, and salt. Stir everything together, add the bay leaved, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. This just barely fit in my crockpot! About 2 hours before the soup is done, brown the ground pork sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the pork is cooked through (no pink), add it to the crock pot and mix it all together. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Enjoy!!