Soup Season

It’s officially soup season so I am sharing my three favorite soups I make on repeat all Winter long. All of these soups are super easy to make, have a good amount of veggies or greens and are regularly requested by Chris! I noticed in the process of writing this post that all my favorite soups have two things in common: SAUSAGE and PARMESAN. This shouldn’t surprise me at all; Chris likes to make fun of how much I love parmesan. I highly recommend serving all of these soups with a rustic baguette. YUM. I love all soup but I REALLY love these because they are delicious enough to double the recipe and serve to company over the weekend and easy enough for an after work weeknight meal!

Mama Mia Minestrone

Ingredients

• 1 onion chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 4 raw Italian chicken sausages, casing removed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 cup broken spaghetti, 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 28 oz can peeled and crushed tomatoes
• salt to taste
• parmesan for serving

Directions

1. Remove casing rom sausage and break into small pieces
2. Put sausage, carrots, onion, and celery into soup pot with butter
3. Heat on medium-high, stirring until sausage loses all its red color, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Turn heat off and add chicken broth, chopped zucchini, spaghetti pieces, oregano and tomatoes to the pot.
5. Stir the mixture and turn the heat back on and bring to a boil.
6. Immediately reduce the heat until the mixture is barely bubbling.
7. Simmer the soup, uncovered, stirring gently once or twice, until the spaghetti and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
8. Add salt to taste and serve with grated parmesan.

Spicy Sausage, Kale and Orecchiette

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 pound spicy italian turkey sausage
• 1 cup whole wheat orecchiette pasta
• 4 cups fresh kale, remove from stems and torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Directions

1. Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir. Cook until onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, then add the chicken stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the liquid to a boil.
2. While the stock is heating up, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the sausage from the casing (if it’s in casing) and add it to the skillet with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the sausage is browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into smaller pieces (or whatever size you desire) with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat.
3. When the stock is boiling, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, just until it’s al dente. Add the kale and stir well, cooking for 2 more minutes. Stir in the cheese, then taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. You can add all of the sausage into the soup or serve the soup into bowls and add the sausage on top per serving. Serve with extra cheese for grating. Make sure to turn the heat off underneath the soup to prevent the noodles from getting super soggy.

Recipe credit: How Sweet Eats

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Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Spinach

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 Italian chicken sausage
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 15oz. cans of cannellini beans
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 bunches of spinach
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• Cavenders seasoning to taste
• Grated parmesan to top

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, saute sausages, garlic and onion until the sausage is cooked through (remove from casings first) and onion is translucent.
2. Add one carton chicken broth, tomatoes, salt and pepper and greek seasoning to taste.
3. Rinse and drain beans and add to soup.
4. Add grated/shaved parmesan to taste.
5. Add spinach to pot until wilted.
6. Add more salt and pepper, greek seasoning and parmesan if needed! Enjoy! 

Recipe Credit: Liz Adams

Happy soup season! And don’t forget about one pot meal when you are look for something easy and cozy this Winter.