Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1 1/2           cups  dry great northern beans
  1                can  whole italian style tomatoes -- (14 1/2 oz), cut up
     3/4         pound  fresh italian sausage links -- cut in 1/2" slices
  1             medium  onion -- chopped
     1/3           cup  dry red wine or water
  1              clove  garlic -- minced
     1/2      teaspoon  dried italian seasoning -- crushed
     1/2       package  frozen chopped spinach -- thawed (10 oz)
  1              large  yellow summer squash or zucchini -- sliced
                        grated parmesan cheese -- optional

Preparation:

Rinse beans; place in a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Or, place beans in a large saucepan. Cover and let soak in a cool place overnight.) Drain and rinse beans. In a 3 1/2-4 qt crockpot,combine undrained tomatoes, beef broth, Italian sausage, onion, wine or water, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cover; cook on low for 11-12 hours or on high 6-8 hours. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach. Stir spinach and squash or zucchini into sour. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Nutritional Information:

102 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (6% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 172mg Sodium