COOK: Phil's Chorizo and Bean Soup

I love soups, they are easy to make, great to freeze, make you feel warm and cozy, and are fun to customize.  (They also pair wonderfully with yummy breads, chips, croutons, and I can't say no to carbs!)

This recipe comes from my dad, he brought us some last winter and I ate it for three days straight and was sad when it was gone!  Since it's finally winter here I asked him for the recipe last week, and after eating it for dinner last night I woke up and was counting the hours until I could have it for lunch, it's so yummy!

I did change a few things from my dad's recipe, he uses granulated garlic, and onion powder, I used a diced onion, and minced garlic cloves.  I also served it with lime wedges, and the hit of lime juice really brought out all of the flavors.  Both versions were delicious, so do whichever you prefer.

In addition to changing the types of beans you use you can make other substitutions.  I think it would also be good with italian sausage in place of the chorizo, you can play with the herbs as well, just depends on what you have in the fridge, and what you are craving.

(I made a half batch, I used 3 cans of beans since 2 1/2 cans seemed silly!)

Phil's Chorizo & Bean Soup

Servings: About 16

Ingredients:

24 Ounces Chorizo

5 15.5/16 Ounce Cans Beans (Mix and Match whatever you prefer)

2 14 Ounce Cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes

32 Ounces Water or Broth

1 Large Jalapeño (Thinly Sliced)

1 Medium Yellow Onion (Diced)

3-5 Garlic Cloves (Minced)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary (Minced) Optional but tasty!

1-2 teaspoons Cumin

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro (Chopped, Save some for garnish)

To Taste:

    Garlic Powder

    Onion Powder

    Salt

    Pepper

Optional for serving:

Line Wedges

Hot Sauce

Tortilla Strips or Chips

Crusty Bread (Recipe here)

Preparation:

In a large pot (I used my 6.5 Quart Enameled Dutch Oven) cook Onions in a bit of oil until translucent, add Garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add in everything but the Chorizo, mix well, cover and let simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

In a separate pan cook Chorizo, add just before serving.

I garnished with extra Cilantro, and served with a Lime Wedge and Chile & Lime Tortilla Chips.

This soups freezes wonderfully!

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COOK: Italian Sausage & Potato Soup

I know it's starting to get warmer, so soup season is almost over, if you only make one more soup this month, make this one!  The first time I made this all of us ate a huge bowl, and when I reheated the leftovers for dinner two nights later there were no complaints, we were all excited to eat it again.

A lot of my recipes call for a type of broth, we always have Better Than Bullion in the fridge so we can make broth anytime we need it.  We also use it in pan sauces, when we are boiling rice to add extra flavor, even in Rice-A-Roni.  

One note, since it is milk based it doesn't freeze well, if you want to make a big batch to freeze I'd leave the half and half out and add it when you reheat it.

Id suggest you serve this with my One Hour French Bread or Four Ingredient Crusty Artisan Bread.

Italian Sausage Potato Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 Pound Italian Sausage 

4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1/2 Large Onion (Chopped)

6 Cloves Garlic (Minced)

4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour

4 Cups Vegetable, Chicken, or Beef Broth 

2 Cups Half & Half (Room temperature)

1-2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)

4 Medium Potatoes (Cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

Salt and Pepper 

Preparation:

In a 3.5 quart dutch oven, or large soup pot, cook sausage over medium heat until browned, remove to a plate with paper towels to drain.  

Put butter in your pot and let melt, then add in onions to sauté, making sure to scrape any brown bits off the the bottom of the pan.  Add in garlic and cook about 30 seconds, then sprinkle flour on top and stir for about two minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

Slowly pour in broth while whisking until all flour has dissolved and there are no lumps.  Stir in half & half, crushed red pepper, potatoes, and cooked sausage, add salt and pepper to taste.  Turn down to simmer and partially cover pot, let cook for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are soft and soup is thick.

Can top with croutons, crackers, or hot sauce.

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COOK: Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

For years KC has talked about his mom's Tortellini Soup, but he thought he'd lost the recipe.  Recently we were going though our cook books and we found the recipe in Story, Wyoming's Centennial Community Cookbook 1901-2001, a cookbook full of recipes from people living in the tiny mountain town of Story, Wyoming.  (This recipe is on page 14, Tortellini Soup by Jeannie Andreason)

I don't normally post a recipe unless it's one I've created or made major changes to, however I think Jeannie would be happy for me to share this with all of you.  (I did change the amount of garlic, we love garlic and almost always use more than a recipe calls for.)

This soup is delicious, hearty and filling, and it freezes well (which is good because it makes at lot!)

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Ground Italian Sausage (you can use sweet, mild, or spicy)

4 Cloves Garlic (Chopped)

1 Medium Onion (Chopped)

6 Cups Beef Broth

1 Cup Water

4 Cups Canned Diced Tomatoes (Drained)

3 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce

2-3 Large Carrots (Peeled and Chopped)

2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano

3 teaspoons Dried Basil

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

1 Bay Leaf (Remove before serving)

1 Medium Zucchini (Chopped)

20 Ounces Cheese Filled Tortellini (Fresh or Frozen)

Grated Parmesan for garnish

Preparation:

In a large pot (we use our 6 Quart Round Dutch Oven), brown sausage, keeping it in large chunks.  Remove the meat and reserve 2 Tablespoons of the fat, sauté the onion and garlic in fat.  

Next, add all ingredients, except zucchini and  tortellini, and add the sausage back in.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat, simmer for 2-3 hours.  

About 45 minutes before serving add in zucchini and tortellini, continue to let simmer.  

Serve with grated parmesan on top.  Goes great with Crusty Artisan Bread or my One Hour French Bread.

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COOK: Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

KC loves Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches, and I love that they are so easy to make in a big batch ahead of time, and throw in the freezer.  He can grab one for his lunch bag, or heat it while he's getting ready and eat it as he drives to work.

There are lots of ways you can customize these, different flavors of breakfast sausage, different cheeses, it's up to you.  I've tried these with bacon, and it tends to dry out and doesn't reheat as well.

These freeze wonderfully for about 3 months (they get gobbled up before they sit that long!)

Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

12 English Muffins

12 Large Eggs (if desired)

1 Pound Breakfast Sausage 

OR

12 Slices Canadian Bacon

8 Ounces Cheddar Cheese (sliced)

Butter

Preparation:

If you are going to add eggs:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, crack an egg in each cup, (you can poke the yolk and even give it a quick scramble if you don't like a whole yolk), then bake for about 10-12 minutes, until eggs look set.  Remove eggs from muffin tin and set aside to cool.  

Next cook meat of choice:

For sausage; cut roll into 12 pieces and flatten into small patties (or save time and buy the premade patties, I find them a little to small for the English Muffins, and we like the sausage to be thinner.)  Pop them into a pan or on the griddle and cook both sides until done, set aside to cool.

For Canadian Bacon; simply put into a hot pan, or on the griddle, cook until warm and slightly browned.  If your Canadian Bacon tries to curl while you are cooking cut a slit from the center to one side, this will help it stay flat.  Set aside to cool.

Turn on your broiler, on the low setting if available.  Lightly butter the inside of each English Muffin half and pop it under your Broiler until lightly toasted.

Slice cheddar cheese, as you can see in my picture I wasn't having a good slicing day, luckily once it melts you can't tell!  

After everything has cooled (if it's still hot the muffins get a bit soggy.) you can assemble your sandwiches, you can start with the egg or meat, but you want to have the cheese on the top, it melts better when you heat them later.

Wrap each sandwich in a square of foil, then put all into a freezer zippy bag.  

To reheat from frozen: remove foil, place sandwich in microwave for heat for about 30 seconds, test, then microwave in 15 second intervals until warm and cheese is melted.  The bun will get hot, let it sit a second before handing to small children.

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