Italian sauasage and tortellini soup with kale

It seems that I have taken a looong hiatus from my blog.... but don't think I haven't been scouring Pinterest or Foodies TV on FB to add some more ideas to my ever revolving door of "go to recipes" for the fam! Recently I found this gem and it is actually the first soup I have attempted.  I can't believe how ridiculously good it turned out!   After I made this soup, I knew I had to get on right away and blog it, as it was too good to pass up sharing!

So, I play Bunco with a group of teachers and some friends once a month on a Friday night.  The host of the game is in charge of making dinner for the group and one night we were provided the most delicious spicy hot sausage and tortellini soup one could have ever tasted!  The host said she found the recipe on Pinterest, so I started looking and found an Italian sausage and tortellini soup and pinned it.  (Although I'm still searching for the one she made...)

 Last week I went back to this soup when planning my weekly menu and decided to take Sunday to throw it in the crock-pot for Monday night (instead of wasting the beautiful day doing schoolwork tenía ganas de cocinar!)... After all, it was 68 degrees in Dallas on this day and what is a better way to spend the day than opening the kitchen door to the fresh January air, throwing on some classic salsa music, and chopping up and throwing together some fresh ingredients to smell up the house with an impossibly irresistible aroma?  So that's what I did and it made our normal "back to school blues" Sunday amaazing!  I think I "created" the most flavorful, delicious, hearty, and comforting soup I have ever put my lips to, all while teaching my 3 year old son the basic steps to salsa dancing in our kitchen ; )

I followed this recipe (below) almost exactly, but changed it up a bit to make it in the crock-pot.  The recipe is written to make stove-top and says it only takes 10 mins. prep, 30 mins. cook time.  Depending on when you prepare it and your availability, decide what you want to do.  

I personally preferred to bask in the addicting scent that filled my house after a few hours of simmering in 

the ol' crock-pot...

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup (original recipe) 

Italian Sausage and Tortellini with Kale (my version)

Two 32 oz. boxes chicken broth (64 oz. or 8 cups) 

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)

1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil (I used freeze dried!)

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

Italian sausage (sweet or hot)

Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion or half a large onion, chopped

One red bell pepper, chopped

About 1 and a half cups kale, chopped

1 bag frozen (or fresh) cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)

*Toppings such as artichokes, red pepper flakes, chopped green onions, feta cheese, shaved Parmesan cheese

Combine 2 boxes of chicken broth, 2 cans diced tomatoes, don't drain, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and a bay leaf in crock-pot, stir, and set on high.  *I found a really cool brand of freeze dried basil called LiteHouse! It's chopped super small and is supposed to last a long time, you just add water!

Meanwhile, start cooking the sweet Italian sausage in a pan filled with water. *The original recipe calls for 1lb. of sausage that can be rolled into balls, but I just used a package of Johnsonville sausages that come five in a pack. I also used sweet sausage, for the kiddos, but next time I will probably go for the hot sausage since we love spicy!

In another pan, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and heat. Add three minced garlic cloves, the chopped onion, and one chopped red bell pepper.  Sautee until red peppers are soft and onions are translucent.  Add this mixture to the broth in the crock-pot.  Salt and pepper soup to taste.

Finish cooking the sausage and chop into bite size pieces. Add to crock-pot.

Finally, wash and chop about 1 and a half cups of kale.  Add to crock-pot.  

This was the First time I ventured into the kale trend besides juicing, so I literally looked on YouTube for How to chop kale !

Cover and continue to cook on high for about 1 hour stirring occasionally.  Then, cook on low for 2 and a half hours and stir every once in a while.

Add a bag of frozen (or fresh) cheese tortellini and cook an additional hour on high and continue to stir (and taste!) 

Kid version with shaved parm and a garlic knot.

A few reasons why this was the best soup ever:

1.  I live with a "non-soup" person and he LOVED it!

2.  This soup was kid-tested and LOVED!

3.  The kids ate tomatoes, red pepper, onions, basil, and kale and didn't even flinch...

4.  We altered the soup depending on each person's likes, and it was unbelievable no matter what we topped it with...

5.  Probably one of the easiest, but most delicious     meals I have ever made...

6.  I have leftovers to share, eat, and freeze!

My version topped with artichokes, green onions, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes!

Enjoy-and spread the love, er, the SOUP. <3LML

Friday Night "Cheater" Minestrone Soup

No matter what, I always feel like we're in a hurry during the school year, even on a Friday night.  We get home from school/work and are starving, want to eat good, but don't want to wait forever to eat.  I know there are a ton of people in the same situation so when I find something good that even the kids love, I have to share it, even if it's NOT homemade ; ). 

 

 

 

 

 

One Friday night I thought we'd try a packaged Minstrone soup mix; Cugino's Mama's Minstrone.  I was unsure, but was pleasantly surprised.  The soup prep is pretty simple:  You only have to add water, tomato sauce, and some browned ground meat.  It cooks for about 25 mins. and while it was cooking I also added a bag of frozen mixed veggies.  I seasoned with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. 

 

 

I topped the soup with some shaved parmesan cheese and served it with grilled cheese.  And of course, another time saver, leftovers for lunch to take to work during the week! 

 

<3grilledcheeseandsoup.

 

Sausage and sticky rice with soy sauce

 

I really don't know why I LOVE this so much, but you should definitely try it!- Just amazing flavor.  I actually think my significant other created this one night when he was left to make dinner for the kiddos because I was working late!  I was pleasantly surprised with a simple, super delicious meal...

 

When I recreated his "creation," I used Hillshire Farm Smoke Sausage, sticky rice (shown in the picture below and YES it IS a 50 lb. bag of sticky rice!), and soy sauce.

 

Simply slice and cut the smoked sausage and cook in a pan.

While sausage is cooking, cook sticky rice as directed.  (any brand I'm sure will do)

Fluff rice in a bowl and top with smoked sausage.

Douse in soy sauce!

 

 

 

Another weeknight meal idea- Chicken and veggies.

 Chicken breasts cooked in pan using Land-o-Lakes Saute Express Italian Herb butter..  seasoned with black pepper and seasoned salt, minced garlic, and topped with chopped green onions.

 

 

Served with green beans and parsley potatoes:

Quarter small yellow potatoes and boil until somewhat soft, still slightly hard, but not mashable!  (If that makes sense!)  Drain water and mix in a tablespoon of butter.  Add 1/4 cup milk and season with garlic salt and parsley.

 

Garden Vegetable Spinach and Egg Brunch Sandwhich

Sandwich LOVER here!!!  So, I have been seeing some pins on Pinterest that use Laughing Cow cheese spread on different types of sandwiches... I finally decided to give it a try and definitely fell in love with it!

 

I made this sandwich for a late breakfast, early lunch.  I had been cooking a lot lately with fresh spinach and trying to incorporate it as much as I could into my meals.  This sandwich is super simple, rather healthy, and extremely delicious!  I used regular white bread, although next time I will be using ciabatta or Italian, which will only up the "tastiness factor!"

 

I started by frying an egg over easy/medium (season with salt and pepper) and then threw some fresh bagged spinach in the pan and cooked it until it was wilted and soft.  Meanwhile, I spread one Laughing Cow cheese triangle- Garden Vegetable, on each piece of bread.  I added sliced avocado to one slice of the bread and then put the egg topped with cooked spinach on the other side of the bread.  I put the sandwich together and then grilled it in the pan for a few minutes.

 

DO IT!

 

YUM.  O.  <3LML

Build your Own Kebab Night

 Love me some summer meals!; crisp and fresh veggies and fruit... layer that with some marinated red meat, even better!  Aahh.

 

My entire family lives in Pennsylvania, so my parents come to Dallas to visit us often.  During summer, they stay for two weeks and we usually fill those weeks with taking them to all of our favorite restaurants and restaurants that we have newly discovered.  Sometimes we just end up eating at home, but we like to do try and do something different than we normally do.  A fun thing that we did this past summer, was a "build your own kabob bar."  Soooo delicious! 

 

 If you are looking for something fun and different to do with your family or friends,  or are hosting a dinner party, this is something to try! 

 

THE OPTIONS:

 

Meats

thick chunks of steak marinated in Italian dressing, seasoned salt, and black pepper chunks of chicken breast with Seasoned Salt, GarlicGarlic, and OnionOnion

                                                                    (Tastefully Simple Seasonings)

shrimp

bacon slices

 

Veggies and Fruit







roughly cut red and green peppers 

red onion

pineapple chunks

 

Sides

 

grilled asparagus

white sticky rice 

 

 

 

This was a team effort!  If you are working alone, obviously begin way before your dinner party starts, and take into consideration all that you have to do...

 

wash and cut veggies

peel, core, and cut fresh pineapple

peel shrimp

cut, season, and marinate meat

 

 

 Asparagus:

 

Wash asparagus and snap off at ends.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with crushed black pepper and seasoned salt.

Wrap in foil and cook on grill, checking to see when it is steamed, but not too soft!

 

 

 

After all the fixin's were set out, the fun began! 

Each person "built their own" kabob (even the kids!).  They LOVED it! 

They chose from the meat and fish, veggies, and fruit and added seasonings if they wanted.  We wrapped the bacon around the kabob for a final touch.

 

 

While the kabobs and asparagus were grillin' outside, we were cooking the sticky rice inside!

 

 

We were left with a perfectly satisfying, "personalized" summer dish... that was made with love and fun!

 

 

from my family to yours<3LML 

 

Everything salad

One thing that I loved to do with my garden box this summer, was pick the fresh veggies, chop them up and mix them together with whatever else I had in the kitchen that would seem to fit!

 

So clean and healthy, and a great snack.  From the garden for this one I used:  hot banana peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro.  I added chopped cucumber and red onion, then drizzled olive oil and squeezed some fresh lime juice over it.

 

Aahhh, the days of summer...