Sausage, Potato and Leek Soup!

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've had a weird ear/balance problem that's been making me feel sick and (to use a quilting term) wonky, so I've been taking it easy. With the weird head movements I'm supposed to do I'm sure I'll be back to normal soon. :)

I have managed to clean and reorganize my bathrooms though. I bought a little cupboard that holds all of my towels and wash cloths now so I have lots of room under the sink. I even spent about an hour scrubbing each of my toilets by hand! (I know - I'm really dedicated to the cause - haha!) They look wonderful, but I felt funny taking pictures of a toilet, so I didn't.

On another note, I did manage to make a really delicious soup that I thought I'd share. Soup sounded really good to me since it's in the single digits outside here and I've been ill. So, with the help of my amazing husband, we put together a very tasty sausage, potato and leek soup!

Here's a list of what I used with rough (and I repeat rough) estimates of how much I put in. It's a soup, so you just have to feel it! :)

• 5 medium sized russet potatoes (this I know I counted right...)
• 1/4 of a leek - chopped (I've never used a leek before, so we used 1/2 of the light end of the leek)
• about 2 cups chicken stock (maybe more...)
• about 2 cups milk
• 3/4 lb of sweet Italian sausage
• Italian seasoning to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

First I peeled, cubed and boiled the potatoes. I drained off most of the water and then mashed 3/4 of the potato cubes in the soup pot. While those were boiling, I browned up the sausage. When the sausage was almost done I added the leek to it to get those little guys warmed up too.

Then I combined everything into the potato pot (so potatoes, leek and sausage mixture, milk, chicken stock and seasonings). Then I brought that up to a low boil and kept adjusting the seasoning as I went. 

I served it with corn bread (I tried a recipe that was gluten free and I found it lacking - I think it needed more salt). However, the bread was good dipped in the soup. We also garnished our soup with some fresh made bacon. Delicious! And, I have two large bowls for leftovers. So - this would probably serve a family of 5 just fine. :) Hope you all are having fun quilting, crafting, cooking or doing whatever you love! 

Sausage and Roasted Garlic Pasta

My husband and I fell in love with a recipe similar to this at our favorite Italian restaurant. But, with 12 inch snow falls predicted for the next couple of days, I decided we should stay in and I'd try to recreate our favorite meal at home. I think it turned out pretty close to the real thing. My local grocery store didn't have any broccoli rabe, so I substituted mushrooms for it in the recipe. My husband likes mushrooms better anyway. I hope you try out the recipe and tweak it to your liking. Let me know what works well for you!

Happy cooking!

*recipe updated 4/29/12*

Sausage and Roasted Garlic Pasta

Ingredients:

1 large head garlic

4 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon
3 tablespoons flour

1 can chicken broth

3 cups cream or half and half
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

Italian (or other seasoned) sausage, cut into slices

½ cup diced onions

2 cups sliced mushrooms or 2 cups broccoli rabe

12 ounces cooked medium-sized shell pasta

Directions:

1)        Separate garlic cloves, peel and roast in oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. 

2)        Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan.

3)        Meanwhile, mush garlic cloves into a paste. Once butter has melted, add garlic to the saucepan and   whisk together for 30 seconds.
4)    Add flour and stir for 1-2 minutes until fully incorporated with the butter and garlic.

5)        Add chicken broth and cream to the butter, garlic and flour mixture. Add brandy. Cook on medium-high heat until reduced and thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6)        Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

7)        Once butter has melted, add onions and sausage. Sautee until onions are translucent.

8)        Add mushrooms and/or broccoli rabe to the sausage and onion mixture. Cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are lightly browned and tender (about 1 to 2 minutes) or until broccoli rabe resembles cooked spinach.

9)        Add pasta shells to sausage mixture.

10)    Once sauce has thickened to your liking, pour over pasta mixture. Let settle 1-2 minutes. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.