Pennsylvania winters suck. Between the snow, ice, and PennDOTs less than impeccable road clean up, I prefer to coop up inside and stay warm as much as possible. Give me some soup, a blanket, some fuzzy socks, and a bowl of hot soup so I can wait this awful season out until Apri.
Wait, did I mention soup twice? Yes, yes I did. And for good reason! Soup of all kinds can warm even the chilliest soul. Here's one Jared and I recently had , and it's good even on the worst wintery-iest days.
Sausage and Spinach soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound of ground, or 5 links, of mild Italian sausage
5 cups chicken stock
2 onions, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups fresh spinach
5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Place olive oil, onions, sausage, and garlic in a large stockpot on medium heat. Heat until the sausage is cooked through, onions will become translucent. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Throw in potatoes and continue on a low boil for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Turn off heat and stir in heavy cream, add spinach. Season with salt and pepper.
What I like about soup is you can create multiple variations from one single recipe. I like this one original style (especially with a glass of white wine on the side, just sayin'), but there are some substitutions you can make to change it up...
- Try different flavors of sausage. I'm thinking a chicken/Apple sausage would be pretty amaze-balls.
- If you're the kale loving type, substitute for the spinach. Mmmm vitamins.
- including a can of white cannelloni beans would add another texture and additional protein to this hearty soup.
So what are you waiting for? Soups on!
Happy cooking, happy eating!!