Margie's Italian Sausage Soup -- Updated!

My mother has served us a terrific soup twice now, and I finally decided to give it a try. Of course, I made this decision after putting the recipe someplace safe where it will never be found, so I have done my best to re-create it. Several people have tried it and liked it a lot, and it is a good dish to have in the fridge or freezer in case unexpected guests appear around dinner time. So here goes:

1/2 onion, roughly chopped, sweated over medium heat in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes

1 1/2 lbs mild Italian sausage, cut out of the casing, broken into little bits, added to the onion

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped, added to sausage/onion mixture

Cook all of this over medium heat until the sausage is cooked through, adding about 1/2 t rosemary and 1/2 t thyme

Add a bunch of cut carrots, in this case about 2 1/2 cups, continue to cook for 3-5 minutes (the object being to cook them so they are just tender but not mushy when the rest of the soup is finished)

Add two cans of diced tomatoes with juice, and 3 or 4 cans of chicken broth

Heat to simmering, then add about 1 1/2 cups pasta shells, and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. About 5 minutes into the 12 minutes, add

2 cans cannellini beans, drained.

Season to taste (be careful of adding pepper -- the sausage continues to add a pepper flavor and will get quite strong as the soup ages).

Now here's the updated part: 2 T basil leaves and a bunch of spinach -- swirl them into the heated soup just before serving, then grate a heap o' Parmesan on the top!

Enjoy!