Sausage Spinach & 'Shroom Soup

or as I like to call it "BBD" which obviously stands for 'big bowl of Death' as I am allergic to all three of those ingredients. haha So, I can give you zero feedback as to how tasty this was. Wiki, on the other hand  wants me to tell you that this was "mmmmm, what soup is this? mmmmm. This is the best you have ever made. I just ate all of it" as I stand there... flabbergasted;) haha As I always say, an empty bowl is the best compliment you can be given.

This soup was actually an accident. I was so excited when Mel announced she was doing the link up again this year. I love soup. I may be one of the few strange people who actually even crave it when the temp is above 75'. I love me some soup. and I was all ready to whip up one of my favorites, 'Pepper Steak Soup" when I realized I forgot to get the potatoes. Gasp, the horror;) and so at 1:15 am, unable to sleep because I read a creepy book...I remembered seeing a spinach and sausage soup on a menu somewhere and realized I had both ingredients(along with the mushrooms) on hand and somewhat blind about how it would turn out(being allergic means you can't actually taste test the whole process as I usually do;)...and this is what I came up with..

1 can cream of mushroom soup

32 oz beef broth

1 cup cream(or half/half)

1 lb sausage

1/2 lb mushrooms

1 large bag fresh spinach

olive oil(2 tbsp)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

spices to taste

Cook sausage through in a skillet, drain excess grease and add in spinach, sauteing till spinach begins to reduce and add in sliced mushrooms. Cook for about 2 to 3 min. Stirring to combine, add in the butter and as it melts add in the flour to coat and make a thickening rue. In a separate stock pot, heat on medium, empty in the can of cream soup and slowly whisk in the beef broth. bring to a simmer and add the sausage mixture. Stirring slowly add in the heavy cream and any spices you want for taste( I used salt, pepper and badia seasoning) Simmer for half an hour and serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Badia has lots of varieties  but their complete seasonings are
life changing...promise.

If you want it to be healthier, you could use chicken/turkey sausage and fat free half and half. 

So if you make this and don't enjoy it...you know who to blame. Wiki, not me;)

via

Bacon Makes Everything Better

Doesn't it?! Unless...you're a vegetarian  then it probably doesn't. At least it wouldn't for one of my faves, MJ. But for me...it does. I love everything about it. And when I was in a hurry to cook something, I remembered a recipe I had discovered on the back of a bag of shredded cheese. I couldn't remember exactly how it went and I made a few changes, but for the most part...I think I was somewhat on target, either way: YUMMY!

This really was perfect for a chilly night, it warmed me from the inside out. and it was carb friendly for Wiki, score points for me. Yessss, love it when that happens.

4 Cheddar & Bacon Chowder

Ingredients

3-4 slices thick bacon

1/2 cup scallions

1 1/2 cups whole milk, half & half or heavy cream

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup celery(chopped)

2 cups shredded cheddar(I used Sargentos 4 state cheddar)

3 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook bacon till crisp( I sprinkled some maple habanero pepper I had on hand for added flavor) Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and place on paper towel till later. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings. Cook celery in drippings, 4-5 min or till tender. Add the flour and cayenne pepper, cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in milk and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes, still stirring occasionally  Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar. Stir until completely melted. Ladle in bowls and top w/bacon, cheese and scallions.

The adaptions I made were pretty simple, for wiki's low carb, I think I only used a tbsp of flour, I used more bacon and actually cooked in into the soup when the celery was done and reserved the rest for the topping. You could easily make this using fat free half and half and low fat cheese if you wanted to control your calories, just not skim milk, it would never thicken enough.

This was so easy and so scrumpt~a~di~lumptious.

And now, can I tell you how we finally put our tree up last night. yes, we have been those people this year. How sad. Wiki has been working such long hours and we've been gone on wknds. While I am really pleased w/the end results...let's just say there were some moments. Like when I was supposed to hold the tree straight and when I let go, it was apparent that a woman who is 5'3 and has arms to match...shouldn't be in charge. then the moment when I looked up to see him stringing the lights on and they were white, as in not just the lights. The cord too. I had to breathe deep. and today I'm gonna get some kind of garland to cover it up. Cause it is... ummm, noticeable. haha Oh well, I have a tree. YAY. After almost 10 years of  being a Mrs, I've learned to pick my battles and this wasn't one!  We had so much fun, just the two of us. We watched the Pats game on tv(although it wasn't much of a game. woot woot) and drank some hot cocoa. Perfect Monday night!

These are our "house divided" ornaments, Wiki is from Boston, ergo...obviously a Sox fan. While I root for every other Boston team, my heart is pinstriped. So when Wiki left for work this morning, I put the Yankee ornament in it's rightful place: front and center.And to be fair, I did the same thing w/the Sox one....

Not my fault it's rightful place is somewhere in the back;)

Turkey Chickpea Chili

This one is a really good twist on another chili I frequently make, white chicken chili. It is pretty healthy and extremely filling. It is also quite simple to make.

This has become my go to of sorts lately. I make a three meat and bean chili, I also make the chicken one. This is almost a combination of the two. One of my besties is a big proponent of this one. We have our regular Tuesday nite dinner parties that now have evolved into eat then watching Ringer parties. And by parties I mean the two of us and Miss Chloe. and Dobby. Also referenced as the beast and devil dog. These weekly dinners are special b/c I have to travel a rather long way to get there. I mean it's not the most convenient friendship. I have to cook the food and then walk out of my front door, walk the 15 ft to the end of my gate and then turn left and walk another 15 ft to hers. It gets really tiresome;)

Ingredients 
1 lb of ground turkey
1 can of chickpeas
1 large can diced tomatoes w/green peppers 
(you really can choose any flavor you prefer)
2 cups chicken broth
1 packet white chicken chili
1 packet cheesy taco 
1 bag corn(optional)

To Prepare
*brown the turkey
*once the turkey is almost browned, add HALF of EACH seasoning packet
stir into the meat and add 1/2 cup of the broth, making sure to dissolve all seasoning mix into meat, simmer for 3 minutes.
*drain chickpeas and add to pan, stirring to incorporate into turkey mixture
*drain some of the juice from the tomatoes and add, repeating above step.
*if you decide you want corn, now add that
*add the remaining seasoning packets and stir into chili. 
*Now add the remainder of the broth to your taste, I do around half a cup at a time and let it simmer for about 3-5 min to determine if it is as thick as I want or if I desire a more "soupy" mix.
*I then let it simmer for about 30-45.

I have browned the turkey and put that along w/the ingredients into the crockpot and let simmer on low for about 2/3 hrs also. it is good this way, just not my favorite. :)

T likes it brothy, I prefer it heartier. I think you can all decide for yourself exactly how you prefer it. 

*origin*
A few years back Panera had a Turkey chicpea chili. It was one of my favorites. This is my version of that. Mine is pretty different, the main similarities are turkey and chickpea. imagine that.