Italian Sausage Potato Soup

Italian Sausage Potato Soup

This soup is my replication of the Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden restaurant. I love the flavor the Italian sausage adds to the mixture of spinach and potatoes in this lightly creamy soup. For additional zip I add some crushed red pepper and to lower the calorie count I use turkey Italian sausage.

Ingredients
6 C. chicken stock
1 large shallot, minced
1/2 C. half & half
2 medium russet potatoes
3 C. frozen leaf spinach
20 oz. package of Honey Suckle White sweet Italian sausage
1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1. Heat a large soup pot sprayed with Pam over medium-high heat. Meanwhile squeeze the sausage from the casings and add to the pot with the minced shallot. Stir to break up the sausage into bite size pieces and cook until done. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
2. Quarter the unpeeled potato length-wise and then slice into 1/4 inch slices. Add the potato, spinach, and red pepper flakes to the broth and sausage.
3. Simmer until potatoes are done. Remove from heat and stir in the 1/2 & 1/2.

Serves 6

Three Cheese Rotini Marinara Bake

Three Cheese Rotini Marinara Bake

This is great on a cool evening served with garlic bread and a salad. If you like, you can add some cooked Italian sausage when everything is mixed together. This recipe uses the spicy marinara from this blog or you can substitute your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients
7 oz. rotini pasta
1 C. fresh baby spinach
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. ground fennel
1/2 C. pitted and sliced kalamata olives
2 C. spicy marinara or your favorite spaghetti sauce
3/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions adding the spinach the last minute of cooking. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together the spices and marinara and heat for 2 minutes in the microwave on high. Stir in the olives and pasta. Add the mozzarella and feta cheeses and stir to distribute throughout the pasta mixture. Pour into a greased casserole dish and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for 25 mintues or until bubbly. Serves 4-5.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Spinach and Dill

Lemon Chicken Soup with Spinach and Dill

With the cool weather arriving here in the midwest, this recipe provides a tasty twist on your basic comfort food – chicken soup! My first taste of this soup took me back to my childhood and a Greek restaurant my family used to frequent. It’s been so long ago that I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but they served a cup of lemony chicken soup as an appetizer which I always loved.
This soup is simple to prepare and is great as a leftover, as well, so you might want to consider making a double batch. It is from The Best of Fine Cooking: Big Buy.

Ingredients
2 T. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, medium dice
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 C. chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics)
1/2 C. instant rice
1 t. dried oregano
5 oz. (6 C. lightly packed) baby spinach
2 T. minced fresh dill
2 T. lemon juice; more to taste
salt & greshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a small 3 qt. sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the chicken thighs, broth, rice, and oregano. Cover, raise the heat to medium high, and bring to a full boil; turn off the heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes. With tongs, transfers the chicken to a cutting board and shred it with a table knife and fork, discarding any obvious fat or gristle. Working in two batches, puree the broth, rice, and onions in a blender until very smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. (I used an immersion blender)

Return the chicken and the blended broth to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the spinach and dill; cook until the spinach wilts completely, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice. Serves 4-6.