Italian Vegetarian soup

This is a cool easy recipe for a hearty Italian soup on cold nights that I got from a colleague (Thanks Marlene!) It originally required cooking on a slow cooker, but I just used a traditional pressure cooker to speed things up.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup baby spinach leaves (frozen stuff will do)
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 2 medium celery ribs chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 medium potato chopped
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 4 Cups vegetable broth (Get Swanson brand from Walmart)
• 14.5 oz. can of Italian Stewed tomatoes (Walmart again)
• Puree of 3 medium tomatoes (fresh)
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/2 Tblsp crushed Red pepper
• 1 Tblsp Mixed Italian herbs (Walmart brand will do)
• 1 Tsp Salt
• A pinch of Black Pepper

All right this is real simple - so easy even a cave man could do it. First get all the ingredients ready. Then, throw all of them into the pressure cooker - broth first, then the veggies and finally the spices.

Stir well and bring this mixture to a boil. Bring the heat down to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, close the lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium heat - then turn off the stove.

Once the pressure is released, the soup is ready. You can adjust the salt and spices at this point. If you'd like the soup to be spicier, sprinkle a little more black pepper.