Sweet Italian Sausage Soup

Well where have you been?  I missed you!  Life projects have been all consuming, your still in my thoughts.  Want to see what has been accomplished in my absence?   Summer included dirt and digging.  We started with a blank slate and were able to get a great start on something beautiful.

Don't let him fool you...he looks cute but was sitting right in my newly watered and planted Snowberry and Ninebark bushes.

One of eight very cool, Oat Grass that are now home along side my driveway.

3 retaining walls, 6 trees, 28 bushes 112 perennials and approximately 15 yards of rock and dirt! Now do you accept my apology?!?!

Summer was an all consuming whirlwind of fun!  It will be missed.
Now that Fall is here though, my recipe resulted from excess of veggies and lack of heat, it is cold here already!  This One Dish Meal comes together very quickly, sub in your favorite veggies or use up what is still coming in fresh from your garden or local markets. 

Sweet Italian Sausage Soup
Print recipe here
1 package all-natural (5-6) Sweet Italian Sausage links
¼ C extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 C carrots, diced
1 C zucchini, diced
2 C  potatoes, diced
2 C kale, chopped small
2 C tomato, diced or 1-15 oz. can Muir Glen diced tomato
1 TB garlic, minced
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB dried basil
1-2 tsp celtic sea salt
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 C white wine
8 C low sodium chicken broth
parmesan or mozzarella for sprinkling

1.   Place sausage in a large pot, cover with water and place on stove.  Boil over medium high heat for 15 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from heat, set aside the sausage to cool and drain water from pot.  Rinse pot and place back onto stove.

 

2.  Over medium high heat, cook the garlic onions, peppers and carrots in olive oil for 5 minutes. While that is cooking, peel the casing off the sausage and chop into bite size pieces.  

3.  Add the rest of the spices, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and sausage.  Saute for another 5 minutes.  Add wine and simmer two minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn down to simmer/ low, cover and let simmer 30-60 minutes.  

4.  When ready to serve, ladle into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and serve with fresh baked garlic focaccia.

Note: The soup seems a bit thin at first, potatoes will thicken up the soup base just enough after simmering. 


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Pizza Burgers

Don't you love to be busy?  What would you be doing if you weren't?  We would all be sitting around hoping for something to do, that's what.  Even though it makes life hairy at times, frantic or just plain crazy.  Being busy is a great thing. 

To get you through the busy week here is a tasty, fast and easy weeknight meal.  Big hit throughout the dinner table.  Second helpings and thumbs up all around.  This is a meal that could easily go in the right or wrong direction and is why I have a passion for quality of ingredients.  Using naturally raised, nitrate free pork ensures your meat is not highly processed and loaded with harmful ingredients.  Chose a pizza sauce with no added sugars or corn syrups.  The cheese is a great way to provide calcium and healthy fats to your brain and skin.  Using real butter and no fake stuff here will add immune boosting healthy fats too!  And we all know that garlic is good for you and your *breath*.

Note:  This would be excellent on the grill!

Pizza Burgers
Print recipe here
2 pound ground Italian sausage, natural raised and nitrate free
8 ciabiatta or sourdough buns
1 C Muir Glen pizza sauce
8 slices mozzarella
½ C parmesan
3 TB unsalted butter
½ tsp garlic powder

1. Patty up the Italian sausage into ½ cup size burgers.

2. Cook patties over medium heat, 10 minute each side until golden crust on outside and no longer pink in the center.

3. Butter buns and sprinkle with garlic powder, layer each side of bun with 1 tablespoon pizza sauce, top one side with 1 tablespoon shredded parmesan, one side with a slice of mozzarella.

4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Broil buns a few minutes until cheese is bubbled and browned. Remove, add cooked sausage burgers and enjoy!

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Linked up at:  33 Shades of Green

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: The Italian Edition

Another edition of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, wishing you all good health this week. 

But,
if it where,
ever so slightly,
to creep in,
that creepy crud. 

I wish you fast healing with this soup packed with vitamin C and antibacterial properties.  The super C loaded secret is the Kale.  Also very specially undetected by all short ones under the age of 12.  Chop is so small they will just think it is parsley.  That is the powerhouse of this healing soup!  The oregano and garlic make this a germs worst enemy and will help your body fight off bacteria.   If you don't have noodles but have a can of white variety or garbanzo beans, save a trip to the store and add a can of drained and rinsed beans instead. 

I did not intend to originally post this recipe, it just ended up being so good that I had too share.  There are not many preparation photos.  If you are a visual person, see my 1st Edition of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: The Cheatin' Edition for more prep photos. 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: The Italian Edition
(AKA- Packed with Vitamin C Edition)
Print recipe here
4 TB pasture butter, divided
1 TB garlic, minced
1 pound free range organic chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces (or leftover Faux-tisserie)
1 tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 C kale, chopped (about half a bunch)
1 ½ cup carrots, diced
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried red pepper flakes
pinch of sugar
10 C low sodium chicken broth
2 C Reames frozen Homestyle Egg Noodles (or drained and rinsed can of white variety beans)

1. In a large soup pot, melt 2 TB butter and 1 TB garlic over medium heat, saute one minute and garlic is golden and fragrant.

2. Add bite size chicken, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add another 2 TB butter, diced onions and carrots to pot and saute 5 minutes.

4. Pour in the chicken broth, mix in the chopped kale, oregano and parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes and sugar. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil.

5. Turn heat to medium- low, add noodles and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, remove from burner or the noodles will become the size of your mattress! Add any more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Top with fresh parmesan and crumbled pepperoni.  Dip with Grissini or any kind of breadsticks, Buon Appetito!



Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from: Saved by the Egg Timer: Original