Day Fourteen: Autumn Soup in Winter

As usual I bought some Johnsonville smoked sausage on sale. As usual I found a lovely Taste of Home recipe to utilize it. Soups on!

Autumn Sausage Corn Soup

10-12 servings

1 lb fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
3 1/2 cups water
1 pkg frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 can tomato paste
1/4 tsp salt, optional
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 In a large skillet, cook, and stir sausage over medium-high eat until browned; set aside.

2 In a dutch oven or soup pot, cook and stir flour in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add the onion, green pepper and green onions; saute until tender.

3 Stir in the water, corn, canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, cayenne pepper, ans sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Day Thirteen: Minestrone

Another copycat Olive Garden soup. This is one is from Sparkpeople so feel at ease knowing that its low cal. Enjoy!

Minutes to Prepare: 15
Minutes to Cook: 45
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced white onions
1/4 cup chopped zucchini
1/4 cup frozen cut italian green beans
1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce)can red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, drained
1 /2 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 cups hot water
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/3 cup macaroni

Directions

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.

Day Twelve: Chicken Fajitas in Soup Form

I love anything with southwestern or tex mex flavors. This recipe is a must try. :)

Fiesta Chicken Chowder

Ingredients

3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 envelope fajita seasoning, divided
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can Mexicorn, drained
1 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can condense nacho cheese soup, undiluted
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1 tbsp lime juice

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour and 2 tbsp fajita seasoning; add chicken. Seal the bag and shake to coat. In a large saucepan, sauté chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

2. In the same pan, sauté onion until onion is tender; and garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the water, beans, tomatoes, corn, rice, chilies, and remaining fajita seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until rice is tender.

Stir in the soup, cilantro, lime juice and chicken, heat through.

Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

2 tsp paprika
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, onion and lemon juice; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add all of the spices except red pepper; cook and stir 1 minute.

2. Stir in tomatoes until well mixed. Stir cream into cornstarch and salt until smooth. Gradually stir into skillet. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; stirring frequently, simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

3. Serve with cooked rice or naan bread, if desired.

Other Uses for Biscuits

Being single and usually cooking for one, leaves me with a lot of leftovers. Every now and again I like to have biscuits for breakfast. The can comes with 8 and I generally only eat 2; what to do with the rest? I decided to make donut holes and mini pizzas.

Breakfast

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes

2-3 Grands flaky layers biscuits
1/2 cup oil for frying
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a small saucepan heat the oil. Cut the biscuits into quarters, drop into the oil, and fry until golden; it only takes a couple minutes. Meanwhile, mix the the cinnamon and sugar. Fresh from the fryer toss the donuts in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Eat!

Lunch

Mini Pizzas

2 Grands flaky layers biscuits
4 tbsp pizza or pasta sauce
1/4 mozzarella
Your favorite toppings

*Note: Pillsbury has tons of recipes to try using their products.