I need to get back in the habit of making a soup every weekend. They’re so fun and easy to throw together – the combinations are endless – and the best part is, you just make a big batch and you’ve got work lunches for a week. We’ve been pulling servings of this baby out of the fridge instead of groggily trying to remember what groceries we have in stock each morning.

For me, that is a huge plus. I have a hard enough time putting a matching outfit together with less than two cups of coffee in my system. And we try to take our lunches to work almost all the time – except Fridays. Friday is date lunch day! Dave and I get together and head for the food carts or a new spot downtown each Friday. It’s a tradition we started two (of my) jobs ago. When I started working at Girl Scouts I was too far away for it to be practical. But now, we are just a few blocks away from each other. And we’re out and about every Friday trying something new.

By the way, if you have a favorite lunch spot or cart downtown, you should let me know. I’m working on a Portland food bucket list, with a sub-bucket list for lunch spots.

But back to the soup. Believe it or not, this was another surprise from the remnants in the fridge and cupboards.

Here’s what you need:
Olive Oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can stewed tomatoes, including juice
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups chopped spinach

In a 4-6 quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil, then add in the onion, carrot and celery until softened. Toss in garlic and cook for one extra minute.

Next, add in the stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, stock/broth and bay leaves. Bring to a full simmer, stirring occasionally, while prepping the meatballs.

Add the Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan and a healthy dose of salt and pepper to a bowl. Use a fork or your [CLEAN] fingers to combine the ingredients, then roll into 1-inch balls.

When the soup is at a robust simmer, drop in the meatballs one by one. Stir very gently, and bring back to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Finally, toss in the rice and spinach. By the time the spinach is wilted, the rice will probably be ready to serve as well.