SAUSAGE, POTATO, & KALE SOUP

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

altered from The Pioneer Woman Recipe

Prep: 5 Minutes	Level: Easy
Cook: 45 Minutes	Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Kale, Picked Over, Cleaned, And Torn Into Bite Sized Pieces
• 12 whole Red Potatoes, Medium slices so they don't dissolve away
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• 1-1/2 pound Italian Sausage
• 1-1/2 tsp of  Chili Seasoning (more To Taste)
• 3 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 heaping Tbsp beef Boullion base
• 1 quart Half-and-half
•  1-1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning (to taste)
• 1 tsp salt (as or if needed)
•  Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation

Prepare the kale and set it aside. 

In a medium pot. boil sliced potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside. 

In a large pot, sweat onion and crumble and brown the Italian sausage. Drain as much as the fat as you can. Stir in the seasonings, chicken broth, Boullion base, and half-and-half. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Give it a taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add the potatoes, then stir in the kale. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Beef Stew ~ by Sarah

I love stew.  I got this recipe from Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapskate.  It's easy and delicious!  The meat will shred itself and be so, so tender after cooking so long!  I added peas to the recipe, but you could add green beans, instead.

Ingredients:
3 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato paste
6 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together
2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
zest of 1/2 an orange
8 small red potatoes
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut
1 small bag frozen peas
salt and pepper

Directions:
Marinate beef in red wine overnight.  Place meat, wine, beef stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cloves, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, and orange zest in a covered casserole dish or crock pot.  Cook for 12 hours in a 250 degree oven, or on medium in a slow cooker for 10-12 hours.  Add carrots and potatoes in the last two hours.  Add peas in last 20 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

*One thing I will probably do next time is, after marinating the beef, take it out of the wine and dredge it in flour before adding it to the crock pot.  I like my stew really thick and this was a little more runny than I prefer.

Potato and Sausage Soup ~Molly

I'm minorly obsessed with kale right now. It might be my new favorite vegetable. I fry it until it's crispy and put it in wraps. I chop it up and add it to scrambled eggs. I search for recipes that use it instead of studying for my Money and Banking midterm. Finding this recipe on epicurious.com was totally worth the B-.
I don't have a picture, so use your imagination. It looks like a broth-based soup. With chunks of potato, sausage, chickpeas, and kale. If you want to get fancy, add a piece of italian bread with butter on it. You could also find the recipe on Epicurious. It's actually called Kale and Chickpea Soup, but I knew none of you would read this recipe if that's what I titled this post.


Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 red potatoes(3/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 lb kale, stems and center ribs cut out and discarded, then leaves very finely chopped (4 cups)
• 3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth (28 fl oz)
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14-oz) can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/4 lb sausage, diced and browned (I used smoked bratwurst)
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• Cook onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in oil in a wide 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until onion and garlic are softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add potato, kale, broth, and water and cook, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then add chickpeas and chorizo and gently simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes. Discard bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
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• Note from Kelsey:  
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• I made this soup for my family and a couple of young "cowboys".  They all loved it, even the kids!  It is definitely something I will make again.  It smelled so good when it was cooking!  I served it with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and a green salad.  I took a picture so I could add it to Molly's original blog post. 
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Ranch Potatoes ~ by Kelsey

These are kinda like seasoned french fries, only I like to think that they are a little healthier since they are baked, not fried.

Ingredients:
About six red potatoes, cut into smallish pieces
Packet of Ranch dressing, the dry kind
About a tablespoon of olive oil

Cut up the potatoes and put them in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag.  Add the oil and the Ranch dressing packet.  Zip the bag and mix together with your hands.  Prepare a baking sheet (they can really stick, so I put down tin foil and then spray it liberally with cooking spray) and then spread the potatoes out in a single layer.  I am still experimenting with the cooking temperature.  It seems that about 350 degrees for about 40 minutes works, but it depends on how big the potato pieces are, so you just have to keep poking them with a fork until they feel soft.

Potato-Bacon Chowder ~ by Sarah

This is a recipe Mom has been making for years and I LOVE it!  I usually serve it with cornbread, but tonight I served it with a loaf of french bread I had purchased and it was delicious when dipped in the chowder.

Ingredients:
8 strips bacon, cut up
1 c. chopped onion
2 c. red potatoes
1 c. water
1/2 t. salt (I also add garlic salt and seasoned salt)
dash pepper
10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup (if you're a chicken hater like Kelsey and Molly you could probably use cream of celery or something like that)
1 c. sour cream
1 3/4 c. milk
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried parsley flakes)

Directions:
Cook bacon in 3 qt. saucepan.  Add onion; saute 3 minutes.  Pour off drippings (but I usually take the bacon out and put it on a paper towel so it drains really well--I then add it back to the soup at the end).  Add potatoes, water, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover; simmer 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Gradually stir in soup, sour cream, milk, and parsley.  Bring to serving temperature over low heat.  Do not boil.