Red Bean and Sausage Soup

Returning to my cajun-food-lovin' roots once again, I made this using red fagioli borlotti beans that I cooked overnight in my crock pot...the easiest way I know to cook dried beans. It's basically an Emerill Lagasse recipe, but I like adding a little chicken in for some additional flavor. And of course, parmesan...Emerill doesn't call for parmesan! It was a very easy lunch to throw together, and it really hit the spot. Fresh bread and Clementini made it a great lunch. Adjust the cayenne pepper to how spicy you want it.


Italian sausage, sliced
1/2 c. cooked chicken, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves, garlic minced
3 c. fagioli barlotti, cooked
3 c. chicken broth, homemade or boullion
parmesan for topping (optional)
chopped green onions for garnish (optional)


In a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned. Drain and set aside. In the same pan, add the oil, onions, celery, bell peppers, bay leaf, salt, and cayenne and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 30 seconds. Add the red beans and their juices, cooked sausage, and 3 cups of the chicken stock, stir well to mix, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and reduced slightly, about 30 minutes, adding more stock as needed if the mixture gets too thick.

Tortellini Soup

This is basically the recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis' book Everyday Pasta. She uses kale, but we prefer spinach.




1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg pancetta
1 box/can of cannellini beans, drained
6-7 c. chicken broth
spinach, frozen or fresh
1-2 packs of fresh tortellini (I prefer spinach & ricotta filled)

In a soup pot, cook the pancetta, carrot, onion, and garlic in 1 T. of olive oil until pancetta is browned (about 5 minutes). Add the cannellini beans and the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the spinach. (I've used torn fresh spinach leaves, part of a box of thawed frozen spinach...and last time I even used about 1/4 of a package of cooked spinach from the deli section at the grocery store. The quantity of spinach is up to you.) Add the tortellini and cook according to the time on the package...usually about 5 minutes. Serve and top with fresh grated parmesan...and maybe a dash of Tabasco if you need it!

**Karli told me she added a parmesan rind to this soup, and it made it much more flavorful. I think parmesean rind added to anything is wonderful so I'll be doing that next time!

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Okay, granted the combo sounds a little strange, but we love this black bean recipe. You would never guess that there's pumpkin in it, but it really gives a great, deep flavor. I start with dried black beans which I actually find here. I cook them in the crockpot the day before...just cover them twice their depth with water and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Then the next day, I made the chili in the crock pot as well or refrigerate the beans for later in the week.

1 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped yellow bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
2 1/2 c. cooked and chopped turkey, chicken, or even sausage
2 c. cooked pumpkin (canned or fresh pumpkin puree listed in another post)
1 can tomato polpa
3 c. chicken broth
approx. 4 c. cooked black beans (2 cans or I prefer to use the entire amount of dried beans...drained and rinsed)

Saute onions, yellow pepper, and garlic till soft...about 8 minutes. Stir in oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute. Transfer to crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. Great with bread and salad.

Virus Killin' Soup

Okay, does it really kill viruses?...I don't know. But it's definitely got enough garlic to do something good. I got this from my friend Chloe at the homeschool forum I use, and it's definitely a hit with lots of folks there. This is a pretty hearty, chunky vegetable soup with a little kick to it. We're all teetering on the edge of colds here so I made a pot of this yesterday. The kids all really like it...which I was a little surprised about. And it definitely warms the tummy and throat.

One whole chicken
20-30 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 T. salt
3-4 thyme sprigs
about 1 t. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
fresh rosemary sprig
fresh ground black pepper

Place the chicken and above ingredients in a soup pot or pressure cooker and cover with water or chicken broth. (I used water and 2 boullion cubes.) Cook until chicken starts to fall apart. Remove from heat. Strain out the chicken, garlic, etc. to get the pure broth. Reserve the broth for the next step. When chicken is cool, debone and chop. Discard the garlic cloves and herb sprigs.

1 large onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced thin and chopped
1 leek, chopped
4-6 stalks celery, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. white wine (or one small juice box size white wine)
salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle oil in bottom of large pot and heat. Add onion, fennel, celery, leek, pepper, and carrots; saute until onion is just transparent. Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cover veggies with broth from chicken. (You can add additional broth or boullion if needed.) Simmer until veggies are tender.

Add the following ingredients and simmer until everything is tender:
green beans, frozen, canned, or fresh
frozen peas
zucchini, sliced or chopped
parsley, chopped
1-2 cans, tomato polpa with juice
chopped chicken
salt and pepper to taste

You can also add chopped cabbage or any other vegetables that you have in your crisper. On the second day, throw in some pasta and turn it into chicken noodle soup.

Ravioli Soup

I used to make this in the U.S. and freeze without the pasta. It was part of my "once a month cooking" recipes. But, I like it so much that even without the freezer space, this still gets made.

1 pound ground beef
3/4 t. onion salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cans tomato polpa (I do decrease this a bit since I have some non-tomato lovers in my house.)
6 oz. tomato paste (I fudge and use either some passata or some of the paste in the tube.)
14 oz. beef broth (or boullion)
1 c. water
1/2 t. sugar
1 t. Italian blend of herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, oregano)
1 package ravioli (dried or fresh, but fresh is better)
parmesan
bread crumbs

Cook beef till done. Drain. Combine remaining ingredients except ravioli. (At this point, this can be frozen in a ziploc bag for later.) Simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. Cook ravioli till tender and add to soup. (If using fresh pasta, I just cook it in the soup.)

Note: this is a really forgiving recipe. I've left things out, made substitutions, etc. and it always turns out well. If you used dried ravioli, it's also a great meal for when you get home from a trip and haven't gone to the grocery store since most of the ingredients are in your pantry or freezer.

Pasta e Fagioli

1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
dash of Italian blend seasoning
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package pancetta
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans red beans, drained
1 package conchigliette pasta (tiny shells)
about 6-7 c. chicken broth (adjust accordingly)
grated parmesan and extra olive oil

Heat oil and butter in large pan. Saute the onion, pancetta, and garlic until onion is tender. Add broth, beans and herbs. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 mintues. Remove bay leaf and rosemary sprig. Puree 1 c. of the bean mixture and return to the saucepan. Cover and return to boild. Add pasta and cook till pasta is done, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Lovely's Taco Soup

Sarah Love gave me this recipe, and we loved it. Great flavor...and it was good leftover as well. I put it in the crock pot, and it was great, but you can make it on the stove just as well.

1/2 - 1 pound ground beef
1 can spanish beans
1 can canneloni beans
1 can tomato polpa
1 can any other type of beans (red, black, pinto, etc.)
1 package taco seasoning (or make your own)
1/2 package ranch dressing seasoning (orig. recipe calls for 1 pack; I cut in it half since I have to import this from the U.S.)
1 can corn

Brown the beef. Drain. Add the taco seasoning just like you're making tacos. Add the ranch dressing. Put in crockpot. Without draining, add the cans of beans and corn. Fill crock pot with water until about 3/4 full. Cook on low 4-6 hours. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, and green onions.

This would be great served with a Cesear salad on the side.

Chicken and Dumplings

Taken from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. This is total comfort food for me! It reminds me of Cracker Barrel. It takes a little work, but on a cold night, it's awesome. Usually, I cook a whole chicken ahead of time in a crock pot, then debone and use part of the meat. It saves a little time and definitely cuts down on cost because I can get two meals from the cooked whole chicken instead of using chicken breasts.

2 t. salt
6 chicken breasts
2 T. oil
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large stalks celery, sliced
1 med. onion, chopped
1 c. plus 2 T. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 t. dried)
1 1/2 c. milk
1 large egg
2 c. water
2 c. chicken broth (or bouillon)
1/4 t. pepper
1 small package frozen peas

Sprinkle 1/2 t. salt on chicken breasts. In dutch oven, heat oil. Brown chicken breasts. Add remaining 1 T. oil to pan. Stir in carrots, celery, and onion; cook till veggies are brown and tender, about 10 minutes. While veggies are cooking, prepare dumplings.

In medium bowl, stir together 1 c. flour, baking powder, 1/2 t. salt, and rosemary. In a cup, mix 1/2 c. milk with egg with a fork. Stir into flour mixture just until blended.

Chop chicken and return to dutch oven. Add water, broth, pepper and remaining 1 t. salt. Heat till boiling. Drop in dumpling dough by rounded tablespoons on top of chicken and veggies to make 12 dumplings. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, carefull remove dumplings, veggies, and chicken to another bowl. Keep the broth in the dutch oven.

In small bowl, stir in remaining 2 T. flour with remaining 1 c. milk and mix till blended. Stir into broth mixture.. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened slightly...about 1 minute. Add peas and heat through. Return chicken, veggies, dumplings to dutch oven and heat through. Makes 6 main dish servings.

Harvest Soup

I recently served this at the fall meeting of my book club, and it was a big hit. It's probably my favorite soup. My kids only tolerate it, though, because of the mushrooms.

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (or one package in the produce section)
1 med. onion, chopped
3/4 c. barley (orzo)
1 t. garlic salt
2 bay leaves
2 cans beef broth (or substitute veggie broth for vegetarians)
2 med. carrots, thinly sliced
2 T. butter
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
4 1/2 c. water
1 small package frozen spinach (or 5-6 cubes of frozen spinach)

In a dutch oven or large pot, saute mushrooms, carrots, and onion in butter till lightly browned. Stir in barley, salt, garlic salt, pepper, bay leaves, water, and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes until orzo is tender. Stir in spinach and cook, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Works well as a whole meal served with fresh bread, a fruit salad, and cream cheese pound cake for dessert. This soup can also be cooked in a pressure cooker...just reduce the time significantly.