Italian Sausage Stew

Around this time of year in the Pacific Northwest you can practically hear people bargaining with God for sunshine and warmer weather. The miserable rainy season has taken it's toll on everyone and while we don't have horrible winter weather, the gloom has gone on too long.
My feeble attempt at embracing the gloom led to a giant pot of soup for my friends.
It was delicious, but I still want need some sunshine.

Luckily I have enough leftovers to hold me over until the sun appears...
aka this weekend if the weather forecast is true.
Italian Sausage Stew

5 cups water
French onion soup mix (one box with 2 packets)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound mild Italian chicken sausage
2 medium yellow squash, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
1 package fresh sliced mushrooms
3 cups baby carrots
1 cup brown rice
Form sausage into bite sized balls.  Bring water to a boil in a separate soup pot. Add the French onion mix packets and rice. Cover and boil 20 minutes.
While that is boiling, add meatballs to large skillet with 2 tbs olive oil on bottom. turn over all the meatballs to brown on the other side and add the chopped onion.
After meatballs and onions are cooked, add them to the prepared onion soup along with the remaining vegetables. Cover and boil for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. If all the water is absorbed add another cup and allow it to come to a boil.

It's not a quick weeknight meal, but it reheats nicely. I made this the night before I had friends over and was able to reheat the whole pot on the stove. It also creates huge portions.
Following the hypoglycemic rules, this equals 8 servings with 1 protein, 1 carb, and 2 veggie.
 Calories     199.4,
 Total Fat     4.0 g
          Saturated Fat     0.6 g
          Polyunsaturated Fat     0.7 g
          Monounsaturated Fat     2.6 g
 Cholesterol     0.0 mg
 Sodium     598.2 mg
 Potassium     499.8 mg
 Total Carbohydrate     22.5 g
          Dietary Fiber     5.0 g
          Sugars     4.6 g
 Protein     3.7 g

Dear Lord,
now that I've shared this amazing soup recipe, can you please, please, pleeeeeease let us have some sunshine? I promise I'll start thinking of some delicious summer treats to share.