Olive Garden's Italian Sausage Soup

          This soup was great. It was really fast and really easy to make. It's a pretty simple recipe as there aren't that many ingredients, but it all adds up to a very hearty and delicious soup. And, it's pretty healthy as well. I used Jenny-O Italian Turkey sausage to cut the fat some. I don't make many soups with a beef broth base, so I wasn't sure how I'd like this one, but it was really tasty! I'm definitely going to be making this soup again!

1 lb sweet Italain sausage, ground (I used the Jenny-O Italian sausage links, and took them out of their casings)

1 C white rice

1 Cup chopped tomatoes in puree (10 3/4 oz can)

10 oz box chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained

6 C beef broth

1/4 tsp black pepper

Pecorino Ramano cheese, for garnish

Brown the sausage in a soup pot and. Add the rice, broth, tomatoes, and pepper and bring to a simmer. 

Simmer for 12- 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in chopped spinach and let simmer a few more minutes.

Serve the soup with a healthy amount freshly grated cheese on top.

That's it! Couldn't be easier or tastier! 

Recipe Courtesy of: Olive Garden

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Rice Soup

     It's that time of year again... soup weather! I love soup weather. And we had a bit of a rain storm a few weeks back that made me immediately begin searching for a delicious looking soup recipe. And I found one.
This soup takes a bit of time, but it was quite worth it. Especially if you like sausage (Yes!), Butternut Squash (Yes!), Rice (Yes!), and Corn (Yes!)!!!

Ingredients:
A 3-4 lb Butternut Squash
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
12 C chicken stock
2 1/2 C chopped onions
1 C wild rice (I didn't have wild rice, so I just used regular white rice, it was really good, but I'm interested in trying it with the wild rice next time).
3/4 lb smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, cut in half, then in half again
2 C fresh corn kernels (I cut my kernels right off the cob and tossed them in with the soup)
1 1/2 C half and half
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel, seed and slice your squash into 1 inch chunks. Be careful because this squash is difficult to peel. As you can tell, I bent my peeler. I had to buy a new one... YAH! I mean, darn!

Place the chunks onto a baking sheet lined with foil and toss with 1 tbsp of oil and salt and pepper (Make sure you don't slather it with the oil, just 1 tbsp, you'd be surprised at how far that tbsp will go. I've made the mistake of putting too much oil before, it doesn't roast right). 

Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender. Remove from the oven. Using a spatula, gently move the pieces around so that they don't get stuck to the foil while cooling. Be careful so that the foil does not tear and then you'll be picking little tiny foil pieces out of your squash. 

Once the squash is cool, place in a blender or a food processor (I used a blendor, I think next time I'll use a processor, this was too much squash for a blender. I found it to be very tedious trying to shove the squash on top down to the bottom of the blender to be pureed. It was frustrating... learn from me. Unless, of course, all you have is a blender, then my suggestion is to work in batches), with 2 C of chicken stop and puree until smooth. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, add 4 C of stock and 1/2 C onions and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and cook until done, about an hour (Unless you use an instant type rice that doesn't take that long... my vote!). Remove and let cool.

In a large pot over medium, add a tbsp of oil. Add the sausage and brown for a few minutes. Add the rest of the onions and the corn and season with salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes more. Add the last 6 C of stock and squash puree. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes.

Sorry about the weird glare thing going on here

Stir in the rice and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. (There was no reason to continue cooking for another 10 minutes with the plain white rice, mental note for next time!)

Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with parsley and dig into this delish soup!

Recipe Courtesy of: Emeril Lagasse (Maker of the best soups ever!)

Dad's Potato Cheese Soup

Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 medium onions, chopped (I used one MASSIVE sweet onion)
4 cloves garlic, chopped (I used crushed garlic from a jar)
1 tbsp fresh Rosemary, chopped (this made the house smell SO good when sauteed in with the butter)
1 lb favorite link sausage, thinly sliced (I used Farmer John smoked sausage)
4 lb peeled and diced russet potatoes (I used about 5 lbs, and chopped them really small so they would cook fast)
24 oz. Deluxe American Cheese (I used the whole block of 32 oz Velveeta Cheese since I used more potatoes)
16-32 oz Milk (This is such a huge gap! I used 16 oz)
Salt and Pepper to taste

*The recipe calls for water, but I used a box of Chicken Broth instead.


Directions
In a 6-8 quart pan, melt butter on medium-low heat with onions until translucent.
Add garlic and Rosemary and saute for 2 minutes.
Add sausage and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Add potatoes and cover with chicken broth (The chicken broth covered most of the potatoes, I just needed about 1 cup of water to top it off).
Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil.
After potatoes become very tender, reduce heat to low and add cheese a little at a time until all melted.
Add milk*, salt and pepper, and cover for 15 minutes.

     *This step is tricky... I burnt the soup a little at this point when I added the milk. I'm not positive that it was the milk, but I have a pretty good feeling that it was indeed the milk. I've heated milk up on the stove for hot chocolate before, and had the same filmy, burnt smell come from that as well. And it wasn't until this point that the soup began to smell kinda burnt. I would maybe turn the heat down a little sooner so that it begins to cool off a bit so that when you add the milk it doesn't burn. Course, I also used a crappy pot that pretty much burns all things you put into it, so that didn't help, I'm sure.

     I found this recipe at Food Network, and it looked so good... I love potato cheese soup.... the thought of adding sausage only made me giggle with joy! I LOVE sausage, it's my favorite food group! So this was perfect for me! It was really good! Everyone else that tried it at Game Night at church said it was really good too. I had some from the top so I couldn't taste any of the burnt part. Next time I'll be more careful. It really thickened up by the time we made it to church too, so it was really thick and creamy! I coulda dealt with more cheese too, cause I'm just a crazy cheese lover!

     There isn't a picture for this one... I didn't whip out my camera at Game Night, sorry! I was too interested in eating all the good food I was stuffing my face with. Speaking of, I ate this one concoction that I wasn't sure what it was... there were scalloped potatoes, macaroni, and lasagna in it so it seemed. When I asked the chef, he said that yes, in fact, that's exactly what it was. He had some leftover lasagna, made some scalloped potatoes, and macaroni, and mixed it all together and baked it... It was one of the tastiest things ever! Who knew!

     Anywho, enjoy this sausage-y, cheesy, potato-y soup! It's yummy!

Dumpling Soup

     I found this recipe in my Food Network magazine and made it on a whim a few months ago, not expecting much, and crazily enough, it has become G's new favorite meal! He asks for it ALL the time! Once, sometimes, twice a month! I've made a few additions to the soup based on our own tastes; nothing drastic, just adding more yumminess, who can argue with that!

     What's great about this dish is it's pretty healthy for you, and we've found that it's actually quite filling! Also, it's super easy to make and takes practically no time! If you like dumpling or wonton soup, then I think you'll really dig this soup!

Ingredients
-4 C low-sodium chicken broth (We like more broth, so I usually up this to 5 or 6 cups, you'll probably agree)
-1/4 lb thick-sliced ham, diced (I get the Farmer John brand from the meat section in the market)
-2 tbsp dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
-1 tbsp sugar
-1 1-in piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (I just add 1 or 2 tsp of grated ginger from a jar)
-4 3-in strips orange zest (Again, I just zest 1/2 an orange)
-Kosher salt and ground pepper
-2 scallions (green onions), sliced, white and green parts separated
-1 C sliced button mushrooms
-2 medium carrots, thinly sliced (I've diced my own carrots, and used frozen, which worked out great as well)
-2-3 Napa Cabbage leaves, thinly sliced (I really like the cabbage, so I usually use a few more leaves. Also, notice this isn't your normal cabbage, which I've also used and it tasted great as well, but it's Napa Cabbage which is also green, but is more delicate than normal cabbage)
-24 frozen chicken or vegetable dumplings or pot stickers (I use the brand Ling Ling, which comes in a yellow bag in the frozen section. They're actually chicken and vegetable dumplings, and they have proven to have the best taste, really hearty)
-Soy sauce for drizzling (optional, but really tasty)

*I add some fresh or frozen shrimp to the dish as well just because!
*I also make some white rice to serve with the soup (I used boil-in-a-bag rice and stuck it right in the soup while it was simmering, and took it out when I added the dumplings, it was perfect)

Directions
     Combine 2 cups of water with the chicken broth, ham, sherry, sugar, ginger, orange zest, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper in a large pot.
     Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the scallion whites, mushrooms, and carrots. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, until the carrots are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
     Add the cabbage, dumplings, and scallion greens (*This is where I add the shrimp). Cover and cook until the dumplings are soft and heated through 4-5 minutes. {The dumplings really don't take any longer than this, so if you're planning on letting the soup simmer any longer b/c you're not going to eat for a while, wait to add the dumplings. I've made the mistake of letting them cook for too long and they were falling apart}
     Divide the dumplings and soup among bowls. Drizzle with soy sauce, if desired.
     *I put a 1/4-1/3 cup rice in the bottom of each bowl and scoop the soup on top. It's spectacular!


Prep time: 15 minutes (If you get frozen carrots, it will take no prep time, I start the soup simmering, and do the rest as I go, so even better!)
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 4-5
Cal 256; Fat 9; Chol 56; Sod, way too much; Carb 24; Fib 3; Pro 18

Taco Soup

• This recipe is so amazing! I love it with every fiber of my being!

• Hopefully you will think it just as delicious!

• There are many recipes out there like it.... this one... is FABULOUS!

• If you're looking for a quick, easy, scrumptious meal, pick this one!

• I usually make two batches, so I double everything, but to make it easy, I'll list it for one batch, and depending on how much you want to make, you can decide if you want to double it. I'm thinking it serves about 5-6 people maybe... one batch.

Taco Soup 

Ingredients

1. 1 lb ground meat (I usually use ground beef, but we've used ground turkey and ground chicken before.... all are good. Sometimes we'll use a pound of each if we are making a double batch!)
2. 1 onion, diced
3. 1 can each of corn, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans (or any type of beans you want!)
4. 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
5. 1 small can of diced green chiles
6. 1 pkg each of taco seasoning mix, and ranch seasoning mix (And don't go for the knock-off brand on these... I've tasted knock-off brand Taco Soup... not as good... definite difference... it's a pkg of seasoning mix... spring for the $1.29 package.... you'll be thankful!)

• ALSO REMEMBER, if you are making a double batch, be sure to get double packets of the seasoning mix.... I've forgotten to do that... trust me, you don't want to make that mistake... the Ranch does wonders, you don't want to miss out on that!

• Optional, but definitely worth it: Sour Cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla strips.

Directions

• Saute the onions and ground meat together. Drain.

• I like to season my meat before adding to the soup, so I put my meat back into the pan and season it with some of the spices that are in the taco seasoning mix. They are spices you probably already have in your cabinet. I use Paprika, Cumin, Garlic Powder, salt and pepper, maybe a little cayenne if you'd like. Let the meat cook for a few minutes after you season it so it will absorb all the flavors... nothing is worse than flavorless meat! nothing!

• To a large stock pot, add the meat and onions, then open all your cans of vegetables, with juices, and empty them in the pot (I chose to add a can of crushed tomatoes to this recipe, so I didn't use the juice from the canned corn, and substituted the crushed tomatoes instead). Pour both seasoning packets into the pot and stir.

• Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer on low for however long you want! I try to let it simmer for at least an hour!

SERVINGPour soup in a bowl, top with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese, and some tortilla strips! MASTERPIECE!

VERDICT: 4.5/5
Grant said that this would have been better had i added tortilla strips to it, I reminded him that I opted to save a little money by not purchasing the tortilla strips, and he liked my decision... so not bad! point is: it's great! He even opted for seconds!

This soup is soooo delicious! You MUST try it!I've tried a soup like it with olives in it, I'm not a huge olive fan anymore, but if you like olives, you might want to add them to this soup and see if it sparks your taste buds even more!