Gray and gloomy day so it is soup day!
I decided this morning the minute I looked outdoors that we would have soup tonight with cheese bread. 50 degrees today are you kidding me? Well as they say, it is what it is.
I am out and about with a friend for a little while this afternoon which is good as I have a bit of cabin fever.

So tonight is my take on Olive Gardens potato, sausage soup.

Zo's spud and sausage soup with spinach.
Ingredients:
olive oil for drizzling in cooking pot
1/3 of a pound of ground italian mild sausage
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 cloves of garlic smashed or minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 medium size potatoes peeled and sliced(not to thin)
1 can chicken broth low sodium
1 cup canned milk or half and half
water to cover potatoes
3 cups of bagged spinach
salt, pepper,basil,italian seasonings to taste.
grated Parmesan,Asiago or Roman cheese

Grab a heavy bottomed soup pot, drizzle once around the pan with olive oil and toss in the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon.
add the seasonings, onion and celery to the meat, cook all over med heat until the meat is done.
Add in the chicken broth and deglaze the pan add the potatoes and water needed to just cover potatoes. Cook med low heat until potatoes are for tender. Add in the milk and heat and then toss in the spinach it will look like a lot but it really shrinks.
Heat till spinach is wilted and warmed. Ladle into deep bowls and grate the cheese over the soup. If you want your soup thicker you can always add a little cornstrach mixed with a little water, or if you want it thinner add a little more milk.
Serve with a crusty bread with garlic butter or cheese bread is good.

Simple cheese bread with a kick.
Ingredients:
Bread
salsa bravo
cheddar cheese
scallions
Slice sourdough or sourdough italian bread into medium size slices. spread with salsa bravo(available in the mexican food isle of your grocery store) grate cheddar cheese and place atop the salsa bravo on the slices, put under the broiler on a baking sheet till the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown on the edges. Remove from oven and scatter scallions over the tops of the bread.

Well I need to dress warmly for my outing. After all is only the third week of May. Well at least we do not have baseball size hail like Oklahoma had.
All you Willamette valley folks stay warm and dry and make a pot of soup!