Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Tuscan Sausage Soup


My 3 big kids all started school last week - and just when I thought things were finally going to slow down - I was wrong!

My kids raved and raved about this - they all had seconds - even the baby:)



Tuscan Sausage Soup
1 lb mild (or hot) Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
1/2 lb bacon, crumbled
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 - 1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock
1 bunch spinach or kale, roughly chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Pepper to taste*

I always peel my potatoes but it isn't necessary. Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces and in a large stock pot, heat chicken stock and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender (about 20 min). 

While the potatoes are cooking, in a second large stock pot, crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink - nice and brown. Set sausage aside. Use that same pot and cook the bacon until crispy and onion until translucent. Add the garlic right at the end at cook for only about 1 minute. I like to cut the bacon into smaller pieces while it is still raw - this saves you the "crumbling" at the end and it cooks much faster. 

When the potatoes are cooked, add the heavy cream - stirring continually to make sure it incorporates well.

Add all other ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Yum.

*I usually say add SALT and pepper to taste - but the sausage, bacon and stock all have salt - so I personally adding more is unnecessary.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Meatloaf

I went out of town for a few days on a girls trip - when I got home I wanted to surprise Sweets with a good home cooked meal. I decided on meatloaf - but I wanted to try a more basic recipe. I thought of all the things I love about meatloaf - as well as all the things I hate about it. This recipe is a combination of about 4 recipes and a little from my head. Big hit. Even my 5 year old had seconds!!



*By request I made this again last night - and remembered to take a picture:)

I made this recipe up 10 years ago!! WOW! Since then, our family has grown in number and we now have 2 adult children and 2 teenaged children! So - I've updated it to suit our current needs. To make it easier on myself - I'm going to write down my current amounts! I'll note the original recipe below the cooking instructions.

Meatloaf
2.5 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 c Italian bread crumbs
5 eggs
salt & pepper
garlic salt
1 onion, shredded
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Topping
1 c ketchup
3 T mustard
1/3 c brown sugar

Whisk eggs until combined. Add bread crumbs and combine thoroughly. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste (about 1/2 t each). Add hamburger, onion and shredded cheese. Combine. Put into loaf pan. I put it into the 2 navy & white 8x6 casserole dishes.

Combine ingredients together and pour over loaf. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - temp at 155 - allow to rest.

ORIGINAL RECIPE
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 - 1/2 c Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs
salt
pepper
garlic salt
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Topping:
1/3 c ketchup
1 T mustard
2 T brown sugar

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails