Sausage, Kale, and Bean Soup

I know.  How many soups can I post with kale and beans?  Well, they are all a bit different and yummy, so why not?  And this one is super easy and basic.  I don't have my own picture so here's one from the website:

Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Katie Stoddard

Ingredients

• 4 ounces Cajun smoked sausage, chopped (such as Conecuh)
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

• 6 cups coarsely chopped kale (about 8 ounces)
• 1 (16-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed 

Preparation

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add smoked sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the kale. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until the kale is tender. Stir in beans, and cook 1 minute or until soup is thoroughly heated.

- Sarah

Recipe from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-kale-bean-soup-10000000554709/

Crockpot Chicken and Sausage

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, cut in 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 (15 oz.) cans navy beans, drained
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 lb. fully cooked Polish sausage or other smoked sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• cooked rice

Preparation:

In small saucepan, bring carrots, onions, and water to a boil. Simmer covered 5 minutes. Transfer to 3 1/2 to 4 quart crock pot. Stir in tomato paste, wine, and seasonings; add beans. Place chicken on top of bean mixture. Place sausage on top of chicken. Cover. Cook on low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or high heat for 3 to 4 hours. Before serving, remove bay leaves and skim off fat.
Serve as a stew or with hot cooked rice. 4 to 6 servings.

-Sarah

*Recipe from: http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchicken/r/bl1c6.htm

Spicy Shrimp and Sausage Boil

If you've ever had a real low-country boil, this is the "I live in an apartment" version. Pretty tasty.

Ingredients

1 serrano or jalapeno chile, halved lengthwise
2 celery stalks, halved
1 medium onion, quartered through stem end
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 T seafood seasoning, plus more for serving
1 pound red new potatoes
2 ears corn, husks and silks removed, quartered
1 pound smoked andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound large shell-on shrimp
2 T melted butter
1 t. hot sauce

Preparation

1. In a large pot, combine chile, celery, onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning, and 10 cups water; bring to a boil. Add potatoes and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Add corn and sausage to pot. Cook until potatoes and corn are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Stir in shrimp and let stand until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 1.5 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid; drain shrimp mixture and return to pot.

3. Add butter, 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning, hot sauce, and reserved cooking liquid and toss to combine. Serve with more seafood seasoning.

Serves 4.


*Recipe from Everyday Food Issue 64

- Sarah

Classic Sausage Gumbo

When I lived in Charlotte with my friend Katie Jo Smith, she would make soups or stews every Sunday afternoon for the upcoming week's worth of lunches (and even freeze some, too!). This gumbo was a recipe she used, and it is very hearty!

I forgot to take a picture, but it makes about 6-8 servings.


Classic Sausage Gumbo

1/3 c flour
1/4 c oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
8-10 oz smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 14 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen okra
1 tsp file powder (I used some Tumeric and Paprika)
3 cup hot cooked rice


In a saucepan or 4-qt dutch oven, combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med. low, cook 15 minutes or until roux is dark reddish brown.

Stir in onion, celery, green pepper and garlic. Cook over med. heat for 3-5 minutes or just until veggies are crisp tender.

Stir in broth, sausage, okra and bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves and stir in file powder. Serve in bowls with rice.

Love,
Lynn

Sausage Potato Soup

This is a very hearty soup.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (48 ounce) can chicken broth
• 6 ounces chicken tenderloins, cooked and cut into pieces
• 6-8 white potatoes, washed and chopped
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh kale, washed, chopped into pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In soup pot, crumble and brown sausage with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes longer. Add salt, peppers, broth, chicken pieces, potatoes and parsley. Bring to boil and immediately turn down to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes add kale. Cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers.

*recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

-Sarah