Sausage Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage(some commenters suggested hot, I used mild)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 bag shredded carrots
• 1 package baby spinach
• 1/2 - 1 cup uncooked pearl barley

Directions

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage, onion, mushrooms, and garlic until the sausage is evenly brown. Season with Italian seasoning. Remove from heat, and drain.
2. In a slow cooker, mix the sausage mixture, chicken broth, carrot, and barley.
3. Cover, and cook 3 hours on High.
4. About 1 hour before it's done, slice the spinach into shreds (you could just add it whole but I find that hard to eat whole wilted spinach leaves) and add to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. I stirred for the whole cooking time about once every half hour.