From the Garden Midwest Harvest Soup

Last Updated on August 8, 2022 by Jess

Summer is winding down in Northern Wisconsin and that means it’s turning to my favorite season. No, not autumn. Okay, I adore autumn. But with autumn comes soup season! A large kettle of soup, a salad, and some fresh baked sourdough bread just can not be beat, and luckily I love making it all. Since the weather dipped into the lower 30’s last week, I had to put together a new soup. I talked with my lady friends, and we christened it Midwest Harvest Soup. I think it is incredibly fitting. 

Picture it: the end of garden season. You are harvesting the last of your tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. Maybe you grew onions too. And it is also time to clean out the freezer because it is almost hunting season which means a new batch of venison to process and store in the freezer. You want to use it all up. This, my friends, is where a Midwest Harvest Soup comes into play. 

Before we begin…

Let me share that each year, we process our own venison. While doing so, we grind and combine some of it with pork butt 50/50 and mix in the seasonings that go with Italian sausage. We dig the mixture put together by Taste of Lizzy T. We freeze our version of Italian sausage in one pound packages and pull it out for all our Italian dishes; think: pasta, baked ziti, etc. It’s fantastic, adds tons of flavor, and keeps the fat down since the pork is only 50% of the mixture. You can bet that if a recipe of mine calls for Italian sausage, I am using this venison version. 

Is it cold where you’re at today? Or do you just love soup like me? Let’s get simmering up a batch of this delicious Midwest Harvest Soup to warm your bellies and your souls. 

Your Ingredients: 

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup finely diced onion
• pepper, to taste (¼ – ½ teaspoon)

• 2 cups chopped sweet pepper (any color) 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon pepper 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 cups chopped zucchini, skins on
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ tablespoon dried basil 
• 5 cups beef broth (I dig Orrington Farm’s beef base)
• 2 cups water
• ¾ cup orzo 

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften. Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo. Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through. 

Of course, you should serve this Midwest Harvest soup with crusty, fresh bread and a side salad for good measure. But even if you don’t have those things on hand, a warm bowl of soup is delightful all on its own. 

Note

It will thicken over a few days, so if you are preparing this with the intent of eating it over a few days like I do, know that it will become more stew like in the coming days. If that isn’t your jam, you can always add an additional cup or two of beef broth.

Tools of the Trade

Midwest Harvest Soup

End of the season harvests combine with orzo and Italian sausage meatballs to create this comforting and warm you soul Midwest Harvest Soup.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Equipment

• Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup finely diced onion
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chopped sweet pepper any color
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 cups chopped zucchini skins on
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ tablespoon dried basil
• 5 cups beef broth
• 2 cups water
• ¾ cup orzo

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper.
• Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
• Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften.
• Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often.
• Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo.
• Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through.

Keyword from the garden, Italian sausage, orzo, soup, soups and stews

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