Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Soup

This is a recipe that lets you make
a good Italin sausage soup using
your slow cooker or crock pot.

Ingredients:
Sausage Meatballs:
1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Soup:
4 cups hot chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup mini pasta shells*
bag (10 ounces) baby spinach leaves
Grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all meatball ingredients.
Form into marble-size meatballs.
Combine broth, tomato paste, garlic
and red pepper flakes in 4 1/2-quart
slow cooker. Add meatballs. Cover;
cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours.
Thirty minutes before serving, add pasta.
When pasta is tender, stir in spinach leaves.
Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
and serve immediately.