Souper Sunday - Italian Sausage Soup

It’s Sunday night and my Giants are playing the Cowboys at their new stadium. After a wild first half, I thought I’d run downstairs to quickly get my Sunday post up for you all! ;) Then I’m going to head back up and catch the rest of the game.

Tonight’s soup comes via my wonderful mother-in-law, Marianne - Italian Sausage Soup. The recipe has been sitting in my recipe box a while but we hadn’t made it yet. When I put it on this week’s menu plan, I thought I was giving my dear husband, Ed, a little taste of home, but he tells me this evening that the soup he remembers didn’t have the tomato base that this one had. Nonetheless, while unfamiliar, the soup was an overwhelming success, prompting Ed to comment that we could do away with a different soup each week and just make this one every Sunday! I really liked it but with all the sausage, its really a guy-pleasing concoction. Sorry honey, but we are going to cycle through soups this year!

Italian Sausage Soup

1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage (about 6 links - 3 hot, 3 mild)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 c celery

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

2 c. chicken broth

1 can of Northern or canellini beans

2 c. shredded cabbage

1/4 t dried basil

1/4 dried thyme

1/4 dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Precook the sausage and slice. Add onion to pot and saute until begins to soften (3 min). Add celery, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, beans, cabbage and spices. Simmer 25 min. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Preparation notes - I wound up calling my MIL during the preparation. She said I didn’t need to drain and wash the beans before adding them. If you would prefer to do that, I would recommend adding a little more broth to the soup. I also made it easy on myself tonight and used pre-shredded cabbage with carrots in it. I also probably doubled the amount of spices added in and used fresh thyme from the garden, which smelled phenomenal! We served it with italian bread and a little parmesan cheese sprinkled over top.

Buon Appetito!

Souper Sunday - Black Bean Soup

After a week of cooler weather, it finally warmed up again today. Not exactly the kind of weather you want for soup night, but Black Bean Soup fit the bill - its not too heavy and the jalepeno pepper and lime juice gives it a nice kick, float a little sour cream on top and you are all set! I got this recipe almost 10 years ago, right after Ed and I were married. We were looking for ways to use our immersion puree stick that we were given for a wedding present. The recipes source is unknown otherwise I would be sure to give credit here.

Black Bean Soup

1T olive oil

1 med. onion, coarsely chopped

1 med. celery stalk, coarsely chopped

1 med carrot, coarsely chopped

1 jalepeno, seed and membranes removed, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 t ground cumin

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed.

1 can chicken broth

1/2 t. salt

2 T fresh lime juice

1/2 c. fresh cilantro

Heat oil. Cook onion, celery, carrot and jalepeno until tender. Add garlic and cumin, cook 1 min. Add beans, broth, salt and 2 c. water. Simmer 15 minutes. Puree with immersion stick (otherwise puree hot soup, in parts, food processor or blender). Finish by stirring in lime juice and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Souper Sunday - Gazpacho

I love September - the kids going back to school and the bright, sparkly, low-humidity days with clear blue skies. Its also the return of our Souper days, where one day a week, I make a big pot of soup which serves not only as a week-night meal but leftovers can be carried to work for lunch. If I’m lucky enough I’ll be able to freeze a couple of containers for a future use. But usually, my dear husband gobbles it up before I can squirrel it away for a later date!

It is one of the last weekends of summer and we are having super, but not quite “souper” weather. Nonetheless, I am anxious to start September off on the right foot. We have had a wonderfully mild summer in NJ and the tomatoes (those that haven’t suffered from the blight crisis), cucumbers and peppers are still going strong. The Main Street Farmer’s Market the past few week has been the perfect inspiration for this week’s soup - Gazpacho!

Its quite easy to make and a great way to clean out the produce drawer of the refrigerator. All you need is a couple of big bowls and a food processor. I used this recipe as a base and substituted 1/4 cup of red onion for the green onions because that is what I had on hand. I like to serve Gazpacho a la George (my Dad) - with a dollop of sour cream and balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled across the top (boil down balsamic vinegar until it gets syrupy and store in a squeeze bottle). Dad has also prepared this to great acclaim for family picnics and where he served “drinkable” portions in small clear plastic cups, like mini-Bloody Marys, each with a celery stalk stuck in.

All the cutting and chopping led to a light and refreshing soup, which Ed and I enjoyed alongside fruited tuna sandwiches. Of course, the kids while fascinated with the process, refused to even touch it. They did however snag some of the cut up vegetables (cucumbers and peppers) during the preparation. Therefore, I count it as a success!