Hey!

When does a recipe become your own? Is it the moment that you tweak one ingredient or two?  Or, is it when you totally create it from scratch on your own?  I’m not certain what magazine the original recipe for “Chunky Italian Soup” came from, but, I’ve made at least four changes to the original ingredient list for this recipe.  The original recipe used beef and I used sausage so I’ve renamed it as Italian Sausage Soup.

We’ve had chilly weather the last few days and this robust soup was the answer to warm the insides.  Thick. Chunky. Hearty. Filling.

Overladen with veggies, I didn’t feel the need to serve a salad with the soup.  Crackers were the addition for one meal and bread and butter, the next.

Italian Sausage Soup

1-16oz. package sausage — {I used Tennessee Pride mild}

1 small onion, chopped

2- 14.5oz. cans diced tomatoes

1-32oz carton of Pacific Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1-12oz package of frozen cut green beans, use only half of the bag.

1 carrot, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

8 ounces of tri-color rotini noodles, cooked

Cook the sausage and onions together in a large pot or Dutch oven until the sausage is cooked thoroughly and crumbly and the onions are translucent.  Drain.  Return to the pot.

Add the tomatoes, soup, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  If the soup seems too thick, add water or chicken broth, a half a cup at a time.  This soup is not meant to be thin.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.  After 30 minutes, stir in kidney beans, green beans, the carrot, and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes.  Lastly, stir in pasta.   Use Parmesan cheese to garnish.  Serves 8-10.

What’s cooking at your house?

Blessings,

Mimi

“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.”  Proverbs 20:13 NIV Bible