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Warm Soup For The Frigid Soul

February 15, 2011

Warm Soup For The Frigid Soul    

I just walked in the door from going out to feed our chickensimage and horses and looked at Bell , our border collie, and asked, 

“Crum…am I back in Iowa???”

Even with my Eddie Bauer Gortex coat, my wool scarf wrapped around my neck and face, and my gloves on…I was so cold that it actually made my face hurt.  That, of course, made me think of those days when my high school friends in Iowa would ask on days like this, 

“Gosh, Claire, does your face hurt?”

I would quickly reply,

“No…”

Then they would say…,

“Well, it’s killin’ me!” baaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha

Ahem…so I digress.  (It’s funny how pain jars the mind…).

Okay…all that to say, THIS is the kind of day that one would love to come home to a hearty soup on the stove served with warm crusty bread.  I can’t think of any better soup than one that Larry and I recently discovered when we were hunting for recipes to use our lamb sausage that we recently processed.  On one of my sleepless-menopausal-nights I found a recipe online that got rave reviews.  The site likened it to the Zuppa Toscana soup that you get at Olive Garden.  In fact…that’s what they call this soup…Zuppa Toscana.  I have since met many people who have told me that it’s one of their favorite soups.

So, let’s get to the recipe!

Here are the ingredients:

·     1 pound bulk mild Italian Sausage (let me interject here that the lamb sausage we have is NOT Italian.  All I had to do to make it work was add about 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to it when I was browning it.  Done!)

·     1 ¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

·     4 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

·     1 large onion, diced

·     1 tablespoon minced garlic

·     5 (13.75 ounce) cans of chicken broth (It’s easier just to get a couple of the 48 ounce cartons of HEB chicken broth.  That way…what you don’t use can be stored in the fridge).

·     6 potatoes, thinly sliced

·     1 cup heavy cream

·     ¼ bunch of Kale leaves…washed and cut in smaller pieces

Directions

1.     Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink. About 10 to 15 minutes. (Remember to add the Italian seasoning if you have regular sausage).  Drain and set aside.

2.     Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven.  Stir in the onions and garlic;  cook until onions are soft and translucent…about 5 minutes.

3.     Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat.  Add the potatoes and boil until fork tender…about 20 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and cooked sausage;  heat through.  Mix the kale into the soup just before serving.  (You can also use spinach…but it tends to get soggy if you reheat).

There you have it…a warm, hearty soup for the cold that ails ya.  Larry and I enjoy topping this with a little cheese and will either have  some warm, homemade bread with it or those great buttery multi-grain crackers by Nabisco.  This soup will fill you up and you will find yourself going back for more.