Today is one of those lazy days, no ambition or drive. After a restless night with a sore arm from my Covid shot, I feel I am entitled to a day of rest. Also, it is a chilly, rainy day with no sun in the sky to brighten my spirits.

Days like this call for a nice, rich comforting bowl of soup. So, to the kitchen I went. There I found sausage, beans, carrots, tomatoes and spinach – perfect. Just enough of each to make lunch for two. With the addition of chicken stock and a few spices, lunch was ready to be served with some bakery Tuscan roasted garlic bread.

Nothing elaborate or difficult – no measuring, just tasted as I went alone. So I have no recipe to share. If interested though, there are many recipes online for a Sausage, Bean and Spinach soup.

To avoid throwing food out, I try to use up leftovers for lunch. This is what I did today.

• Italian sausage leftover from Pasta night
• Spinach and tomatoes left from a salad
• Carrots and onion – always on hand
• White beans – a can from the pantry – smashed half and left half whole
• Chicken stock – again, always on hand – either homemade or in the pantry
• Spices – I used garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper

I thought it was quite good and satisfying, not sure Bud agreed; he did like the bread though.

Do you ever clean out the refrigerator for a one-pot meal? We call those “Kitchen Sink” meals – everything in it except the kitchen sink.