One of my favorite recipies, esp. in the winter! I did make a few changes: added more carrots (I like it sweet), 2 cans of chicken broth in addition to the beef broth, more zuccini, and I've removed all the casing off the saussages before slicing them up. Canned beans I've tried are kidney (adds more color) & garbonzo -- depending on what I have on hand. Instead of spinich I've also used collard greens. I've made a meat-free version of this using veg. broth & vegetarian Italian saussage. I add 1-2 TBS of Italian seasoning in the beginning, and as for the "saussage", I brown, set it aside and added it back to the pot during the last 15 min. of cooking to reheat (prevents the "saussage" from breaking down. This recipe seems bullet-proof -- it's always turned out great, even when I simmered it for an hour. I've served this at dinner parties and most end up having seconds; finicky kids seem to like it too!

Reviewed On: Nov. 24, 2010

Love this easy recipe! I used a whole vanilla bean instead of the vanilla extract (softened bean in the milk, then scraped out the seeds & cooked it over low heat longer). It was a hit at our dinner party -- even guests on a diet couldn't resist gobbling their's all up!

Reviewed On: Nov. 12, 2010