Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots -- halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves -- minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa*, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cans Great Northern beans -- drained and rinsed
1 - 6 oz bag fresh baby spinach leaves (see notes)

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts. Yield: 5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups).

CL's NOTES : Pureeing some of the soup lends body to the dish. Stir in fresh spinach after the soup is removed from the heat so it won't overcook and lose its bright color.

Poster notes: I used a little extra garlic and Italian seasoning. I also used turkey smoked sausage and 1/2 of a 10 oz. box of chopped spinach. I just thawed it out and squeezed it dry and added it at the end, just long enough to heat it up.

Stacy's Notes - made this Feb 2004. I thought it was delicious! A definite keeper! I used 1/2 of a package of Healthy Choice turkey sausage (14 oz pkg), a lot more garlic, Italian seasoning and pepper than the recipe called for. I also added some chipotle powder at the end. I used 1 bag of baby spinach (which I stemmed and chopped fine). Next time might try using half the bag as Tim thought it was too spinach-y, plus the leftovers will probably heat up better with less spinach (stringy). I made the Country Apple Coleslaw to go with it.