Seven Vegetable Soup

We enjoyed a lovely dinner with a dear friend and her husband Saturday evening and on the menu was this delicious vegetable soup, a new recipe for me, one shared by our daughter, Emily. Its so much fun sharing recipes and cooking ideas with her...especially when they turn out this good!

1 quart chicken stock
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce
2 cups 1/2 inch potato cubes
2 medium carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 package frozen creamed spinach (10 oz.), thawed
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

This is a slow cooker recipe and the directions say to combine all ingredients except the spinach and cheese in the slow cooker, cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low until the potatoes and carrots are tender. My slow cooker never really got the potatoes and carrots tender, not even on high. So I ended up transferring the soup to a stock pot to cook on the stove. Either way, once those potatoes and carrots are tender, increase the heat to high and stir in the thawed creamed spinach. Cook another 6-10 minutes until the soup is slightly thickened. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.