Potato Soup with Kale and Sausage

Happy Tuesday, 

so excited for another fabulous week to be underway! 

Always so many great opportunities in any given week, 

so much to pursue and accomplish. 

My weekly to-do list is always quite ambitious, 

thankfully I'm motivated by progress, 

so in a good week, my productivity will snowball by the week's end. 

Of course, feeding my family is always on my weekly to-do list.

Last night, 

we enjoyed a family favorite

Chicken Quesadillas

for dinner. 

Tonight will probably be another hearty soup, 

something along the lines of this soup, both comforting and scrumptious

Potato Soup with Kale and Sausage.

Sure, we all love the soups that simmer all day, 

like our moms and grandmas used to make….

But, I'm also a big fan of a soup that can be whipped up in just about 30 minutes.

especially when it is complete with 

protein, carb and vegetable. 

My favorite meals are always a one-dish wonder!

Otherwise, I must admit, 

I might get too lazy to serve a vegetable, 

who wants to dirty another dish

when you can throw it all in one pot!  

Start by browning up 1# of Italian Sausage.

Fat aside, I'm a pretty big fan of the flavor that sausage imparts and 

have been cooking with it more than ever. 

Set the sausage aside and brown up

1 onion - chopped, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp of each salt and pepper. 

Maybe some butter to aid in the browning, 

but I thought there was enough fat left from the sausage, 

so I omitted that. 

Like spinach, this baby kale wilts down a ton!

So, in goes 2 large handfuls of baby kale….

And after just a few minutes, 

it is wilted down to this. 

Then add 4 medium potatoes - chopped.

The smaller the potato pieces, the faster they cook. 

Maybe I'd cut them smaller next time. 

Add back the sausage. 

And then add 4 cups of broth

and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.

I know I've said this a million times, 

but we like thicker soups, 

so feel free to add more broth if that is your preference. 

Finally, add 1 cup of whole milk

for the creamy-effect. 

Feel free to top with some

 freshly grated parmesan

for some delightful cheesy-nuttiness! 

RECIPE:

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1# of Italian Sausage

1 onion - chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

8 oz baby kale

4 medium potatoes - chopped

4 cups of broth

1 cup of whole milk

Freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

• Brown sausage and set aside. 
• Soften the onion and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper. 
• Add the kale for wilting. 
• Add chopped potatoes, sausage and broth. 
• Simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked. 
• Add milk, top with parmesan and serve. 

Sausage, Egg and Cheesy Hash Brown Bake

I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe Christmas is just three days away!  

There is so much anticipation and build-up, that when it actually gets close, it seems surreal.  

I am extremely excited and grateful to have the next two weeks off to be home with the kids.  

Although, I have one minor problem…I tend to be overambitious!  

Yesterday I sat on the couch with my hubby watching the Packer game making out a 

to-do list and scheduling the tasks for the next two weeks.

  I will still get up at 5 am to start laundry and get my workout in, 

I will be as efficient as possible, 

but there is no way that everything I put on my list is going to get done, 

but that won't stop me from trying!  

My goals are to use the first week to get caught up and the second week to get ahead!  

Tackle some projects that have been lingering (like wedding and honeymoon pictures!) 

but I can't forgot that I also have to finish some of the Christmas details…

like sorting presents to ensure that the kids all of the same number and wrapping them.

So, perhaps all of the bedrooms and bathrooms won't get deep-cleaned, 

but you can be sure that the presents and cooking will get done!  

Speaking of cooking, 

how do you plan your holiday meals?  

It has been the topic of multiple dinner discussions over the past week, 

giving each family member a chance to request something special.  

We received a ham from Jerry's employer, 

so that will be accompanied with some roasted baby reds, a nice salad, corn and

fruit cocktail jello made in individual crystal glasses.

(something I did once that has now become a hard and fast tradition!)

As far as Christmas morning, 

I have a easy and delicious breakfast bake for you to make

that will be done just in time for you to open any presents that may have arrived.  

Just brown up 1# of bulk Italian sausage over medium heat. 

Then, sautee a chopped onion right in the same pan,

picking up some of the sausage flavoring. 

Into the baking dish a 28 oz bag of THAWED* hash browns were layered

and sprinkled with salt.  

*Leave the hash browns in the fridge over night and that will cut your baking time in half!  

Next, layer the cooked sausage over the potatoes. 

For an even quicker option, 

diced ham can be used which doesn't require any additional time for browning. 

One dozen eggs, 1 cup of milk, the cooked onions, 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper

were all whisked together. 

The egg mixture was poured over the sausage and potatoes. 

Topped with 1-2 cups of shredded cheddar 

and bake at 350 F for about 30-35 minutes. 

Until the eggs are cooked and the cheese is browned. 

Let stand to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

This was a perfect brunch on a busy sport morning and 

I made it again this past weekend 

for a Christmas gathering on my extended side of the family. 

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

1# of bulk Italian sausage (diced ham could be substituted for a quicker prep)

1 onion - chopped

28 oz bag of THAWED hash browns

1 dozen eggs

1 cup of milk

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1-2 cups of shredded cheddar 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. 
• Layer hash browns into 9x13 pan. 
• Brown sausage over medium heat, layer over hash browns. 
• Sautee onion in sausage pan. 
• Combine eggs, onion, milk, salt and pepper; whisk well. 
• Pour over hash browns and sausage. 
• Sprinkle with cheese. 
• Bake for 30-40 minutes. 
• Let stand before serving. 

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Happy Tuesday to all. 

I'm home again today with our youngest who is still fighting a fever.  

Poor guy!  

While being sick is never fun, at least when it is rainy and 35 F, 

spending the day snuggled in bed isn't such a bad alternative. 

Since I'm home, I can get caught up a bit!

I feel a bit like a slacker since I've noticed that this is only my 3rd post this month, 

but if you have seen the  Facebook feeds or the Janesville Gazette,

 at least I have a good alibi.

Making all of that food in one day (click here for recipes) 

was quite the cooking extravaganza and 

I am so thankful and humbled to have the opportunity to share my recipes with a broader community. 

Besides the upcoming holidays,

 I've been hearing some of you talk about warm, healthy, easy meals that are ready when you are!  

You are in luck….

I made this Jambalaya in the slow cooker a few weeks ago 

during our last soccer weekend.  

Just throw a few simple ingredients together and 

the fabulous aroma welcomed us into the house after the brisk afternoon at the field.  

Without further ado, let's get started!

Add two chicken breasts, whole, and 

one sliced up ring of smoked beef sausage 

 to the slow cooker. 

Just last year, I started adding my chicken to the slow cooker whole, 

as in, un-chopped.   

This is so much better!

Less mess because a raw chicken cutting board and knife are eliminated

and

shredding cooked chicken after a few hours in the slow cooker is just soooo easy!  

Actually, it practically shreds itself just removing it from the vessel. 

Anyway, back to the dish.  

Top the meat off with a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 

1 cup of water and 1 chicken bouillon cube. 

As far as seasoning, I used 

2 tsp Cajun Seasoning

1 tsp ground oregano

2 tsp ground garlic

1 tsp ground thyme

And that's it!  

Stir it up and turn on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. 

When we got home, it had cooked down a bit. 

Remove the chicken for shredding.

Add 1 cup of minute rice, 

which cooks nice and fast in this hot environment. 

While the rice was cooking, the chicken was shredded and added back.  

So flavorful, so warm and hearty, really hit the spot!  

I'd definitely make a bigger batch next time…

maybe even double it, 

as the leftovers, minimal as they may have been, 

were at least as delicious! 

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4-10 hours in Slow Cooker

Served: 6

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 Ring of smoked beef sausage

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup of water

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 tsp Cajun Seasoning

1 tsp ground oregano

2 tsp ground garlic

1 tsp ground thyme

1 cup of minute rice

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients, except the rice, to the slow cooker. 

Stir well and set on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. 

Just before serving, remove chicken for shredding. 

Add rice for cooking. 

Add back the chicken. 

Serve it up!  

Cranberry and Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

Let's talk about squash. 

Does that word rub you the wrong way the same way it does me?

When I was a kid, I wouldn't have been caught dead eating squash, 

I probably would have rather had brussel sprouts (which I'm STILL not a fan of)

 than squash! 

Thankfully there is zucchini,

the gateway squash, 

as I've always enjoyed zucchini and while I've hated the idea of squash,

I figured that if I liked zucchini, 

then maybe the other squashes couldn't be too bad!  

Now that I have matured 

(insert another thankfully here)

I am so grateful for all of the varieties of squash

AND

all of the awesome recipes to make with them. 

Today I want to share with you 

Cranberry and Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash.

The combination tangy cranberries, chewy rice, creamy squash

and the fabulous flavors of Italian sausage,

this is one heck of fall festival in your mouth!  

This party started by browning 1# of bulk Italian sausage 

while the oven was preheating to 450 F. 

Then, the acorn squash was cut in half

and the seeds were scooped out. 

The baking started with 15-20 minutes at 450 F, 

cut side down,
until started to soften.  

Once the sausage was done, it was drained on a paper towel.

The paper towel helps to separate and collect the grease 

which prevents it from moving on to the next steps in the process. 

One cup of brown minute rice was added to 1 cup of boiling or broth

for a quick 5-minute cooking session. 

When the rice was nearly done, the sausage was added to the rice pan

along with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

And, viola, the gluten free stuffing is ready!  

And, looks delicious!  

After the first pre-cooking session, 

the squash was flipped over and coated with some butter. 

Piled high with the stuffing mix. 

Sprinkled with Parmesan and 

back to the oven for the next 20-30 minutes at 350 F until nice and soft!

These came out of the oven ready to be devoured. 

Perfect for these brisk, fall evenings. 

RECIPE:

Prep Time : 20 minutes

Bake Time : 35-50 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1# bulk Italian Sausage

1 cup of minute rice - uncooked

1 cup water or broth

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 acorn squash

4 tbsp Butter

Grated Parmesan cheese - to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. 

Brown sausage and drain well. 

Cut Acorn Squash in half and remove seeds. 

Bake cut side down for 15-20 minutes. 

Make 1 cup of Minute rice according to instructions. 

Combine cooked rice, sausage and cranberries. 

After the first 15-20 minutes of baking, flip squash over and butter. 
Reduce oven to 350 F.

Fill with cranberry, rice and sausage stuffing. 

Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

Cozy Ski Soup

Welcome back from the weekend...hope it was wonderful and I know we are all thrilled that warmer weather is on the way.  

I'm as excited as anyone for the roads to clear and snow to melt, soccer and biking season are right around the corner.  

Although, I just can't pass up this opportunity to share with you the awesome soup recipe that we enjoyed on our annual family ski trip this past weekend. 

Here's my gang on the slopes!

We should really try to put a number before that 'annual', but the number of years escapes us, especially as it evolves...how do you put a number on it? 

I've been skiing since I was 5 or 6, so does that make it the 30th annual ski trip? But, my dad, sisters and brother have been skiing longer than that.  

Our new tradition of staying trail side started when my 20 year old niece was 1, so is it the 19th?

You get the point, we've been doing this for a long time and as traditions go, something change and some things stay the same.  

Same = trail side lodging, different = new condo. 

Same = 3 generations of family, different = less people

Same= soup,  different = Cozy Ski Soup

One of my goals for the near future is to start an album with all pictures of the family ski trip, through the years.  After this many years, the details get all jumbled together.  I'll let you know how that goes. 

Anyway, on to the soup.  

Started by browning 1 lb of Italian sausage, upon completion, set aside on paper towel to drain, wipe out excess any grease from the soup pot, but leave a little behind to sautee the veggies in.  

Chop and toss 1 medium onion, 3 stalks of celery (I included the leafy parts too), a cup of shredded carrots and 1 zucchini into the pan for some preliminary cooking.  Cook until soft. 

Then added the broth, which was primarily Chicken Stock (4 cups), but also used up the 1 cup tomato juice and 2 cups of beef stock that were in the fridge, just begging to be used!

I am always conservative with liquids when starting soup.  More stock/broth/water can always be later or added just prior to serving, but it is much harder to remove. 

Next, I added 1 bag of frozen corn and frozen green beans.  I generally preferred frozen to canned, the texture of the corn and beans holds up much better from frozen than can and I'm a huge texture person. Two can of diced tomatoes would also be added at this point, but since I they were temporarily out of stock in my pantry, I had to wait to add them until just before serving. 

Last ingredient to make this a hearty and cozy soup is 1 lb of pasta. After boiling for about 10 minutes the pasta was cooked and ready to be served.

Since I made this in advance of our ski trip…didn't want to miss time on the slopes having to cook. So, I froze the soup and re-heated it for serving.  That worked out perfectly!

In addition to the diced tomatoes, I also added some more water and bouillon, as it was a little more like goulash than soup.  That is a personal preference to be adjusted accordingly.

The family was thrilled with this new soup, it definitely hit the spot for the occasion.


Cozy Ski Soup

Ingredients
1 lb of Italian sausage
1 medium onion
3 stalks of celery (I included the leafy parts too)
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 zucchini 
8 cups of Chicken Stock (or other broth type ingredients - tomato juice, vegetable or beef stock)
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bag of frozen green beans
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 lb of small pasta 

Cook the sausage in soup pot. Drain on paper towel. Remove excess grease.
Saute onion, celery and carrots in pan.
Add stock/broth ingredients.
While bringing to a boil, add frozen corn, beans and diced tomatoes.
Finally, boil pasta for 10 minutes.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.