Kale and Kielbasa Soup

The broth and flavor of this soup never gets old. It is great leftover and perfect for any cold night. It is quick and easy to make with only a few ingredients to purchase (which is always a plus in my book). The base of this soup is similar to the Tuscan Ribollita soup that I made earlier. 


Servings: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes 
Cook Time: 50 minutes


Ingredients:
1 lb. kielbasa sausage
2 large carrots
2 yellow onions (or 1 large yellow onion)
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups chopped kale
1 bay leaf
2 (14 oz) cans cannellini beans
7 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper


Chop 2 whole carrots into small pieces and set aside. 

Chop 1 large or 2 small yellow onions and set aside.

Mince 4 cloves of garlic and set aside. 

Slice kielbasa into 1/4 inch rounds.

In a large stock pot over medium high heat, cook kielbasa slices until slightly brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove kielbasa and set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the stock pot with the kielbasa drippings over medium heat. Stir in onions and carrots and cook until tender for about 5-8 minutes. 

Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. 

Remove stems of kale and chop into thin strips.

Stir the kale into the stock pot and cover with a lid and steam the kale for 4 minutes.

Season sautéed vegetables with salt and pepper.

Drain cannellini beans in a colander over the sink.

Stir in cannellini beans, bay leaf, and kielbasa. 

Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

'Til next time,

Caroline

Tomato Soup



Tomato soup is one of life's finer pleasures if you ask me. The Souper Sunday dream team decided to make a tomato soup all together. That's right. Three know-it-alls in one space trying to come to a consensus. Agreeing on a recipe was hard enough but talk about too many cooks in the kitchen!

We started the evening with Caroline leading us in a camera demostration.  Matt and I both own fancy cameras but we sure don't know how to use them.  

Here we are looking dazed and confused.

Now for the cooking.

Ingredients:

1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 stalks of celery
4 small carrots
1 large onion
8 cloves of garlic
4 cups of chicken broth
4 bay leaves
3 teaspoons of dried basil
1/2 cup of cream or milk
Salt & ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Chop up your celery, onion and garlic in a food processor.

Now, do the same to your carrots.

Strain your canned tomatoes, reserve the juices and spread on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Roast your tomatoes until caramelized which should take 15-20 minutes.

Add your celery, carrots, onion and garlic to a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat. Cook about 10 minutes until softened.

Add the roasted tomatoes, juices, chicken broth, bay leaves, basil and milk. Simmer about 15-20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and puree in blender.

You can't beat tomato soup with a good grilled cheese sandwich!

Enjoy!

'Till next time,

Natalie

Hamburger Soup

This hamburger soup is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is hearty, filling, and has a great flavor! Don't be thrown off by the name though. This hamburger soup contains no mustard, ketchup, or any other bizarre combination of condiments. 

Ingredients:

(serves 4-6)

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced carrots 

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

4 - 5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup sliced okra

4 cups chicken broth

1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Optional: 1 cup chopped cabbage, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and/or 3/4 cup green beans.

The best way to begin this recipe is to get all the prep work out of the way. Believe me this will make it smooth sailing when you start cooking. Dice your onion, carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Combine diced vegetables, ground beef, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, and worcestershire sauce in the stock pot. 

Cook the beef until it is browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 

Once the meat is browned and the vegetables are sautéed, about 5 - 7 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot (2 bay leaves, chicken broth, 15 oz can of tomatoes, and 1 cup sliced okra).

Stir ingredients in stock pot together and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to low, cover with lid, and simmer soup for 1 to 2 hours (stirring occasionally). Once soup has cooked down is combined, remove pot from heat and serve. Enjoy!

'Till next time,

Caroline

Vegetable Soup

Over the years, many have inquired about my vegetable soup recipe. The only problem is I don't actually have a recipe. The good news is you can't hardly mess up this soup.

I love vegetable soup. It's probably up there in my top five and here is why: it's incredibly healthy, it's rich in color and taste and it reminds me of home and family. I think there is a nostalgia to vegetable soup. It's timeless and suitable for almost any occasion.

The best thing about vegetable soup: it's an organic process. Ever-evolving. If you don't like a vegetable or it's out of season just eliminate it and try something else. 

Ingredients:
Obviously, fresh is always best, then frozen, then canned. I'm going to write this recipe for exactly what I used this Souper Sunday.

Carrots (1 bag of mini-carrots)
Green pepper (1)
Yellow onion (1)
Potatoes (3 baking size Idaho potatoes)
Garlic (4 cloves)
Celery (5-6 stalks)
Okra (1 package frozen)
Green beans (1 package frozen)
Lima beans (1 package frozen)
Black eyed peas (1 package frozen)
Corn (4 stalks of fresh corn and 1/2 package of frozen corn)
Diced tomatoes (1 can)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of beef broth
2 bottles of V8 juice ( I bought a bottle of low-sodium and 1 bottle of spicy) You will find the container of V8 in the juice section.



Warning: This makes ALOT of soup so depending on the size of your pot, you may want to put the ingredients in evenly in case you can't use everything or you could always do two pots. This freezes very well so I always make up a ton or eat off of it all week.

Chop up your carrots, celery and potatoes. I chopped my garlic, onions and bellpepper in my food processor. 

Remove your corn from the cob. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add in chicken broth and the bottle of V8-low sodium. Bring to a boil and add your potatoes, celery, carrots and corn. Slow boil for about 15 minutes. You can then add in everything else except the okra.  If the okra cooks too long it falls apart. At this point, you can add in the V8-spicy (3/4 a bottle), your beef broth and water depending on how thick you like your soup.

Let your soup simmer (not boil). Stir occasionally and add okra about 30 minutes before you are ready to eat it. I usually add salt at this time too. I do not put a lot. If you usually salt everything then I would suggest that you not add it at all and just add it to your individual serving. Also, add pepper the last 10 minutes or so. I LOVE pepper so I add even more pepper in my serving but pepper really makes this soup come together if you ask me. I also add a pinch of sugar. This is my secret weapon for almost every soup.

A nice glass of sweet tea felt the most suitable for this Sunday afternoon. Oh and by the way, a shout-out to my alma mater is a must. ROLL TIDE! 

This soup is good enough to eat completely by itself but I also like it with saltines or cornbread. It's a very healthy soup as you can see and I love using V8 juice because you are getting so many more nutrients beyond what is in the ingredient list. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

'Till next time,
Natalie