Monday, September 16, 2013

It's September 16th...

And our Halloween decor is out. Judge if you must. The girl looked at it and said, "Oh, Mommy! All of these decorations sure make my heart smile!". Mine too. Glitter runs through our veins. My poor husband. 

Oh! And this morning, right after I put the Halloween wreathe on the door? A black cat trotted up to my front porch. He knew. But then Myles almost ate his head off, so I'm pretty sure he won't be back. But he was totally sensing my holiday spirit for about 10 seconds. Sorry, black cat. 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Coming Out of Retirement- Souper Sunday 2013

So, I had a bazillion (handful) of requests for Souper Sunday recipes. You kids like your soup! As a result, I am pulling the ol' blog out of retirement, because I am lazy and will probably forget to email those of you who asked for the recipe. 

Our first Souper Sunday of 2013 is my take on Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. I'm not an O.G. fan, but by golly I enjoy their soup and salad. You may hate my recipes, because I make up most of them and my measurements aren't exact. Just go with it, and I'm sure it will all be just fine. Happy Souper Sunday, players!

1lb ground sausage (I used Jimmy Dean reduced fat)
3 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped
1 chopped white onion
3 medium russet potatoes cubed
2 cans chicken broth
Minced garlic- I like a lot. You may not!
1 c chopped kale
Handful of sliced mushrooms
1 quart water
1 c (ish) heavy cream
Salt and pepper


Cook sausage, bacon and onion until thoroughly browned and onions are translucent. Bacon should not be crispy. Drain fat and put the meat and onion to the side. 

In a stock pot, cook potatoes in broth, garlic and water on medium heat until tender. 

Add meat, onions, mushrooms and kale. Simmer until the kale is cooked, but not mushy. About 7 minutes. Kale is gross mushy. Stir in cream before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste. I garnished with fresh Parmesan. 

Y'all. This was so good. So easy. So better than the O.G. version. 

Do it.