Tag: cast iron cooking

Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Gosh my friends, I love me some soup season. I do believe that I could eat soup every week without complaint, even in the heat of the summer. But this time of year? When fall is sneaking up on us and it’s sweatshirt season but the sun is still warm in the afternoon? That’s just about the perfect time of year. Around our house, it’s all the time we start thinking about clearing out our freezer because hunting season is just around the corner. Right now, our freezer is full of our Italian sausage inspired venison and we are using it in so many ways, including this awesome kale and white bean sausage soup. 

This soup was also inspired by one of my oldest friends. We don’t talk too often, but when we do, it often begins with a text about the food one of us is cooking. About a month ago, he texted me to say he loves cooking in cast iron for soup; that he often makes the soup in the morning, puts the cover on it, and lets the flavors meld together for a few hours. This time, it was a bean, roasted tomato, and artichoke soup. Well, needless to say, the pictures looked amazing!

Of course I needed it in my life

I switched it up a bit, adding the sausage and extra beans. When I described a kale and white bean sausage soup to my kiddos, they were immediately sold. I’ll be honest, I was a bit surprised they were ready for the kale as they don’t love cooked greens, but excited kids means mom has to make the soup pronto. 

When it was done, my babies ate multiple servings and I had to say that I was planning on leftovers for lunch the next day so they would stop. I hope your family loves it as much as mine did. It will definitely be a dinner one repeat at our house, I’ll tell you that! Let’s start cooking!

Your Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage (We use ground Italian venison. It’s great!)
  • 3 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 5 cups chicken stock 
  • 1 cup diced onion, about two small onions
  • 1 cup diced celery, about two ribs
  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1 ½ cups diced potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold) 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups kale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Shaved Parmesan cheese, optional 

Your Steps to Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

Begin to heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and brown. (Option to add a bit of oil to the pan before you add the sausage. I find that it helps keep the sausage from sticking.) 

Meanwhile, dice the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Additionally, drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Combine 1 ½ cans of beans and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Blend with a stick (immersion) blender. I like to do this in a wide mouth mason jar. 

Once cooked through, remove browned sausage and drain. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced onions, celery, and carrot. Cook until soft, about 7-10 minutes, stirring periodically. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the diced potatoes, beans, pureed beans, and remaining chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and perhaps some shaved Parmesan as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, 

Serve with crusty bread, a salad, and additional shaved Parmesan.

All the ingredients for Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup
Simple ingredients, great soup!
Soften them up.
Vegetables cooked down for soup
Veg and bean puree!
Nearly there.
Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup
Serve it up! Delish!

Tools of the Trade

I love all things from the The Lodge Cast Iron, but most of all, I love my Dutch Oven; so much so that I actually own three of them! They are great for soups and stews as well as bread baking. They can go straight in the oven from the stove top and hold heat so well. A stick blender is awesome in this recipe as well!

Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup

This Kale and White Bean Sausage Soup is a nutritious and hearty dish that is perfect for the fall season. It is sure to warm you up on a cold day.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 6

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 3 cans cannellini beans rinsed
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup diced onion about two small onions
  • 1 cup diced celery about two ribs
  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1 ½ cups diced potatoes I prefer Yukon gold
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups kale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Shaved Parmesan cheese optional

Instructions
 

  • Begin to heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and brown. (Option to add a bit of oil to the pan before you add the sausage. I find that it helps keep the sausage from sticking.)
  • Meanwhile, dice the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Additionally, drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
  • Combine 1 ½ cans of beans and about 1 cup of chicken stock. Blend with a stick (hand) blender.
  • Once cooked through, remove browned sausage and drain. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced onions, celery, and carrot. Cook until soft, about 7-10 minutes, stirring periodically.
  • Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the diced potatoes, beans, pureed beans, and remaining chicken stock.
  • Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and shaved Parmesan (optional) as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the kale is soft.
  • Serve with a salad and crusty bread.
Keyword cannellini beans, cast iron, cast iron cooking, comfort food, dairy free, fall eats, Italian sausage, Italian venison, kale, Potatoes, soup, white bean
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JessLeave a comment

Homemade Clam Chowder

If you hang out with me on Instagram, you may know that I am part of a collab that cooks from a different cookbook each month. The intent was to use those books that are collecting dust, but for many of us, it has led to us purchasing more books. Ha! For me, it has also led to some new explorations and recipe development. Case in point, this homemade clam chowder. 

A month ago, I had pulled out the first cookbook I ever bought, Betty Crocker’s Big Red Cookbook (okay, that might not be it’s name, but that’s what I am calling it) and in flipping through the pages for our challenge, I stumbled on the clam chowder recipe. That’s one of the Mr’s favorites!

It was super simple; too simple. And when I cook for our cookbook collab, I try my best to stick to the recipe and avoid going rogue, as much as I would like to. That meant I picked different recipes for the collab, but also that it was time for me to play and create my own take on clam chowder. I knew my husband would love it!

Ready to give it a try? Let’s cook together! 

Your Ingredients 

  • 2 cans of clams, reserving the juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 cups diced potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups diced celery
  • 1 teaspoon garlic 
  • 1 cup water 
  • ¼ cup flour 
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 cup half and half 
  • 1 ½ cups milk 
  • ½ teaspoon pepper 
  • ½ teaspoon salt 

Your Steps to Homemade Clam Chowder

In a dutch oven (I love my cast iron Dutch oven!), heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, potatoes, and celery. Saute for 8-10 minutes, until the onion has softened. Stir in garlic, water, and clam juice. Add additional water to make sure the vegetables are covered, if needed. 

Bring to a boil and simmer the vegetables for ten minutes, until potatoes are soft. Meanwhile, add the butter to a medium skillet on medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook until it starts to just brown. SLOWLY, slowly stir in the half and half, ¼ cup or so at a time. Add salt and pepper. 

Whisk the half and half mixture into the vegetable mixture. Stir in milk and clams and cook until just heated through to prevent the clams from getting chewy. 

Note: If you dig a creamier soup, swap some of the milk for more half and half or use a whole milk rather than something like skim.

Chopped vegetables for homemade clam chowder
Cook down those vegetables.
All those vegetables cooked down.
Simmer them up!
Create the roux
Create the roux while they simmer.
Start adding the cream.
Add the white sauce
Get that white sauce in there.
Completed clam chowder
Simple and delish!
Completed clam chowder

Homemade Clam Chowder

A simple and delicious take on clam chowder that can be put together in under 40 minutes!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course dinner, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cans clams reserving the juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 cups diced potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups diced celery
  • 1 teaspoon garlic
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, potatoes, and celery. Saute for 8-10 minutes, until the onion has softened.
  • Stir in garlic, water, and clam juice. Add additional water to make sure the vegetables are covered, if needed. Bring to a boil and simmer the vegetables for ten minutes, until potatoes are soft.
  • Meanwhile, add the butter to a medium skillet on medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook until it starts to just brown. SLOWLY, slowly whisk in the half and half, ¼ cup or so at a time. Add salt and pepper.
  • Whisk the half and half mixture into the vegetable mixture. Stir in milk and clams and cook until just heated through to prevent the clams from getting chewy. Serve immediately.

Notes

Note: If you dig a creamier soup, swap some of the milk for more half and half or use a whole milk rather than something like skim.
Keyword cast iron cooking, clam chowder, clams, cream soup, fall eats, Potatoes, sides, soup, soups and stews, winter eats
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other recipes?

Might I suggest some of my other favorite soups and stews and a dessert or two! Or you can head right to my Baking or Cooking page for more inspiration.

JessLeave a comment

One Pan Pepper and Italian Sausage Skillet

This one pan pepper and Italian sausage skillet has been on my mind for some time. I wanted to create something simple for families to cook that is kid friendly. I also wanted to develop some more meal inspiration for ground proteins. 

You see, at our house, our primary protein is venison. The Mr. aims to harvest three deer a year, which we process ourselves. We have the good cuts (chops and tenderloin), we pressure can stew and seasoned meat (find that here!), and then we grind the rest. Some is ground plain while some gets the Italian sausage treatment, getting mixed with some ground pork. That means about ½ of our freezer is full of ground venison in some form. The usual suspects in terms of recipes are pasta with a meat sauce, tacos, Korean inspired BBQ, Homemade Hamburger Helper, and soups and stews. 

Okay, now that I type those…it seems like we have a lot of options, but my goodness, I wanted more! I think this has a bit of a picadillo inspiration (without the olives or raisins) only because I had been looking at Cuban recipes heavily the month before and while this truly is not a picadillo, it definitely has some elements. It’s simple and full of easy to find ingredients you might just have on hand. It’s a good one.

Enough talk. Let’s get cooking and get this meal on the table in about 40 minutes!

Your Ingredients for Pepper and Italian Sausage Skillet

  • 1 pound Italian sausage (we use our Italian inspired venison) 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups sweet pepper, diced (about 1 large)
  • 1 cup onion, diced (about 1 medium) 
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 15 ounces diced tomatoes (I use unsalted), NOT drained
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) 
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock 
  • 1 cup long grain white rice (If you use brown rice, adjust the cook time) 
  • 1 – 1 ½ cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby, Italian blend, whatever suits you)
  • Sliced green onions (optional, as a garnish)
  • Salt to taste (I find the sausage and stock add enough and don’t add any) 

Your Steps to this One Pan Pepper and Italian Sausage Skillet

Choose a heavy cooking vessel with a cover (I love my cast iron dutch oven, but it doesn’t have to be). Brown the Italian sausage (I like to add a bit of oil to help it from sticking as it cooks). Remove from the pan and set aside. 

Heat the olive oil. Then add the diced peppers and onions. Cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except cheese and green onions) and bring to a boil. 

Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until rice is done. If you opt for brown rice (which I have done), increase the cook time to 40-45 minutes. The hardest part is not checking the rice. Part of what cooks the rice is the steaming action that comes from keeping the cover on. It will turn out great. Just let the stove top do its thing. 

Once the rice is cooked, top with shredded cheese, remove from heat, and replace the cover until the cheese is melted. Serve with sliced green onions. 

I love a good veg photo shoot.
Cook them down and add those tomatoes.
Stir in the protein and rice.
Be patient and leave that cover on.
Perfection!

Tools of the Trade

If you’ve been here awhile, you know I live for my cast iron Dutch oven. I think it is the number one cooking vessel in my house. I also love my flexible cutting boards. It sure would be hard to live without them!

One Pan Pepper and Italian Sausage Skillet

Looking for a one pot meal that will be done in under 40 minutes? This One Pan Pepper and Italian Sausage Skillet is just the ticket!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups sweet pepper diced (about 1 large)
  • 1 cup onion diced (about 1 medium)
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 15 ounces diced tomatoes NOT drained
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper optional
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup long grain white rice
  • 1 – 1 ½ cups shredded cheese
  • Sliced green onions optional, as a garnish
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Choose a heavy cooking vessel with a cover (I love my cast iron dutch oven, but it doesn’t have to be). Brown the Italian sausage (I like to add a bit of oil to help it from sticking as it cooks). Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Add olive oil, diced peppers and onions. Cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except cheese and green onions) and bring to a boil.
  • Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until rice is done. If you opt for brown rice (which I have done), increase the cook time to 40-45 minutes. Leave the cover on and don’t check the rice. It will cook. Just be patient.
  • Once the rice is cooked, top with shredded cheese, remove from heat, and replace the cover until the cheese is melted. Serve with sliced green onions.
Keyword cast iron cooking, Italian sausage, one pot meals, peppers, tomatoes
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Looking for other fun recipes?

Check out my cooking page, or pick some of the great recipes below!

Jess2 Comments

One Cookbook Three Recipes

Normally, I spend a fair amount of time experimenting in my kitchen and garden. Creating recipes of my own or reading others and then expanding and making them my own. However, I have recently been fortunate enough to become involved with a group of collaborators who each choose a cookbook from their bookshelf. Maybe one they love. Maybe one they have never used before and it’s been collecting dust. Regardless, with that one cookbook, three recipes are chosen and we cook throughout the month, sharing the results every Tuesday. 

As for me, I had just recently inherited a number of cookbooks. You see, my grandpa was a fabulous chef. His father, his brothers and he ran a restaurant for some time called “Sam and Sons.” His father has immigrated from Sicily so the Italian blood runs deep. This was evident in the cooking that my grandpa did as the head chef at the restaurant for the 5-10 years that they owned it. 

But back to the cookbooks. My grandpa passed away in August 2020, and one of the things we were able to do was go through his cookbooks to take a piece of him with us. As a sourdough baker, I totally took all the books on bread. I found one on Charcuterie boards. But the one I felt especially drawn to was The Talisman Italian Cookbook by Ada Boni. A book I later learned is no longer in print and is considered THE Italian cookbook.

The Talisman: My one Cookbook, Three Recipes Book

This is the book I chose for my first in the one cookbook, three recipes collaboration. It was so fun that I wanted to share my adventure with all of you. Note that the book has very simple instructions with zero pictures. You have to decide by ingredients rather than images, which is new for me. 

When cooking, I tried to follow the recipe to a T. No going rogue and adding extra spices. I did have a substitution or two, but that was only because I didn’t have the exact ingredient on hand. You can jump to each recipe by clicking the images below!

Biscotta Al Pignoli

Chicken Cacciatora

Potato Soup Italian Style

The Talisman
Biscotta Al Pignoli
Chicken Cacciatora
Potato Soup Italian Style

Recipe One: Biscotta Al Pignoli (Biscuits with Pine Nuts)

I am a baker at heart so of course I scanned the cookie recipes first. I wanted something simple with ingredients I generally have on hand, so I went with the Biscotta Al Pignoli. It was a little unique as I had to incorporate the sugar and eggs using a double boiler, something that I have never done baking cookies. They turned out very reminiscent of meringue cookies, light and crisp. The recipe read:

Your Ingredients: 

  • 1 ½ cups sugar 
  • 4 eggs 
  • ¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 2 ¼ cups pastry flour 
  • 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts

Place sugar and eggs in top of a double boiler over hot but not boiling water, and beat until egg mixture is lukewarm. Remove from over the water and continue beating until foaming and cool. Add lemon rind and flour slowly and blend in gently. 

Drop by teaspoonfuls on buttered and floured baking sheet, leaving a space of 1 inch between them. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and pine nuts. Let stand 10 minutes and bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) for 15 minutes (I recommend cooking for 10 and then checking them. My first batch was a little overdone). This recipe makes about 40 cookies. 

Hit up the double boiler
Mix it up with some zest!
Onto the cookie try with pine nuts!
Baked delights!

Recipe Two: Chicken Cacciatora

I am not going to lie, I needed to cook my second recipe and didn’t have any picked out yet. I grabbed my cookbook on the way to our grocery store and started scanning. What was special about this one? I was drawn to the simplicity of the chicken cacciatora recipe and the fact that I had all the ingredients besides the marsala wine. 

I was tempted to add other spices and things, but again, stuck with the recipe as written. And OH MY GOODNESS. I was in awe of how amazing this dish was. It was the kind of food that makes you eat with your eyes closed, savoring every bite. It was cooked in my Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, which is one of my favorite kitchen tools. I served the chicken and sauce alongside some lightly seasoned polenta, which I had never cooked before either. 

Simply put, this is out of this world good. A MUST try.

Your Ingredients

  • 4 pound spring chicken, cut into pieces (I used 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs) 
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup fat
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped fine
  • ¼ cup chopped carrot 
  • 3 sprigs parsley
  • 1 basil or bay leaf 
  • 4 cups tomatoes 
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Dash pepper
  • ¼ cup Marsala, sherry, or white wine (I did Marsala)

Dredge chicken in flour, sprinkle with salt, and brown in fat until golden on all sides. Place in a covered dish in a warm place. Brown onion, garlic, carrot, parsley and bay leaf or basil in fat left in frying pan. 

Strain tomatoes (when strained you should have 2 cups pulp). Add tomato pulp to browned vegetables in frying pan, add 1 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper and bring to a boil. Add chicken and wine and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Serves four.

As a side to the chicken cacciatora, I made four servings of polenta. It got cooked according to the directions on the back of the package, using chicken stock as my liquid.

Again, out of this world good. A must try! 

While prepping the chicken.
So close to finished!
Perfection

Recipe Three: Potato Soup Italian Style

I love soups as much (if not more) as I love baking sweet treats. So when I saw that The Talisman had a whole chapter dedicated to soups, I knew that had to be where I drew from for my third recipe. Again, I searched for a recipe that had ingredients that I mostly had on hand. (It’s my favorite way to cook!) My family loves potato soup, so when I found Potato Soup Italian Style, I thought, “this is it!”

It was unique to me because I generally wouldn’t through potatoes and tomato sauce in the same recipe. I also thought it was interesting that the potatoes got boiled skins on, and then peeled and pushed through a sieve. But after some research, I learned that this is the way all the best chefs make mashed potatoes. I pushed mine through a metal strainer like this.

My family enjoyed this soup more than I thought they would. Again, I stuck to the original recipe, not adding any extra spices or seasoning, although I wanted to. Definitely something they would like me to make again!

Your Ingredients:

  • 4 large potatoes (about 2 pounds) 
  • 3 tablespoons butter 
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • ½ clove garlic 
  • 2 carrots, diced 
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups warm water
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Boil potatoes until thoroughly cooked, peel and put through a sieve. While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in soup pan, add onion, celery, parsley, garlic, and carrot and brown gently. Remove garlic, add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, warm water and strained potatoes and simmer 15 minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Serves 4. 

Sauting the veg.
Breaking down the potato.
Almost ready!
Potato Soup, Italian Style

That’s it. That was my adventure as I explored using one cookbook, three recipes. I loved thinking that my grandpa was with me as I cooked from his book, sitting at his old dining room table. It was a special experience, for sure.

Looking for each of the recipes from One Cookbook, Three recipes?

You can find them below with a link or two to my favorite kitchen gear I used to create these delicious Italian Recipes.

Biscotta Al Pignoli

A light Italian cookie reminscent of merague cookies with pine nuts
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 40 cookies

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 2 ¼ cups pastry flour
  • 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Place sugar and eggs in top of a double boiler over hot but not boiling water, and beat until egg mixture is lukewarm. Remove from over the water and continue beating until foaming and cool.
  • Add lemon rind and flour slowly and blend in gently.
  • Drop by teaspoonfuls on buttered and floured baking sheet, leaving a space of 1 inch between them.
  • Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and pine nuts. Let stand 10 minutes.
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Keyword Cookies, drop cookies, Italian cookies, pine nuts
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Chicken Cacciatora

A meal known as "hunter's style:" Chicken Cacciatora has a rich sauce and tender chicken that is simple to throw together.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 4 pound spring chicken cut into pieces (I used 6 bonelss skinless chicken thighs)
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup fat
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove of garlic chopped fine
  • ¼ cup chopped carrot
  • 3 sprigs parsley
  • 1 basil or bay leaf
  • 4 cups tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Dash pepper
  • ¼ cup Marsala sherry, or white wine (I did Marsala)

Instructions
 

  • Dredge chicken in flour, sprinkle with salt and brown in fat until golden on all sides.
  • Place in covered dish in a warm place.
  • Brown onion, garlic, carrot, parsley and bay leaf or basil in fat left in frying pan.
  • Strain tomatoes (when strained you should have 2 cups pulp). Add tomato pulp to browned vegetables in frying pan, add 1 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper and bring to a boil.
  • Add chicken and wine and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

Notes

A great side for this dish is polenta, to soak up all the juices. Cooking according to directions on package.
Keyword cast iron, chicken, tomatoes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Potato Soup Italian Style

"Riced" potatoes make the base of this potato soup creamy and the addition of tomatoes make it unique! A fun Italian take on potato soup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large potatoes about 2 pounds
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • ½ clove garlic
  • 2 carrots diced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups warm water
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Boil potatoes (skin on) until thoroughly cooked. Allow to cool slightly and then peel and put through sieve (a metal strainer works great).
  • While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in soup pan, add onion, celery, parsley, garlic and carrot and brown gently. Remove garlic, add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, warm water and strained potatoes and simmer 15 minutes.
  • Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Keyword potato, soup, tomatoes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to do a full moon after dark hike that ended with a fire meditation. It was an incredible event put on by my local yoga studio. When we arrived at the fire, our guide had warm soup prepared for us. Generally speaking, I tend to stick with the very common American soups: chicken noodle, vegetable beef, chili. You know the kind. But there was an option for a curried sweet potato soup that I couldn’t get enough of. I knew I had to get home and recreate my own version of it: A spiced sweet potato soup. 

I love the simplicity of this soup and the number of ingredients. For the most part, it’s the kind of soup you can have all the ingredients “on hand” and be able to throw it together when the “What are we going to have for dinner?!” comes up. It pairs well with a salad and some crusty bread (Seriously, check out my milk and honey sourdough bread. You’ll thank me). The spices are so warming, I can’t help but smile when I think of them.

This may be outside of my general “soup comfort zone,” but holy man, it’s GOOD. I practically licked out the Dutch oven and declared that I could eat it every week. I can not wait to share it with all of you!

Your Ingredients

  • ½ tablespoon coconut oil (or any other oil)
  • 1 cup diced onion 
  • 5 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato
  • 2 cups diced carrot 
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic 
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, low sodium
  • ½ cup water 
  • 1 can original coconut milk 
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin 
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander 
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric 
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼-½ teaspoon chili flakes 
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 
  • ½ teaspoon salt 

Your Steps to Spiced Sweet Potato Soup 

In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, heat coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until very soft and browned, about 7 minutes. Add sweet potato and carrot. Stir in stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Stir in spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg, and salt. Remove from heat. 

Using an immersion blender, puree vegetables with stock right in the cooking vessel. If an immersion blender isn’t available, the vegetables can be pureed in small batches in a food processor. Return to soup kettle. 

Slowly stir in coconut milk. Heat until warmed through. The spices will heighten in flavor over time. This is a great soup to prepare early in the day and serve for dinner, but it is DELICIOUS any time of day. 

I hope you like it as much as we do. It has a perfect balance of sweet and savory in a soup that warms you all the way through. And what a great way to have a meatless meal! 

Looking for other soup inspiration? Check out my cooking page!

  • Humble beginnings.
  • Beautifully browned.
  • All that orange goodness!
  • Spice of life!
  • Mix it all together!
  • Blend, blend, blend.
  • Stir in that coconut milk.
  • It’s just so beautiful.
  • Oh my yum!

Tools of the Trade

I can’t begin to share my full love of my immersion blender and my The Lodge Dutch Oven. They are my go kitchen tools. I like to say that a woman can do a whole heck of a lot with a dutch oven and a wooden spoon. These are my favorites:

Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Sweet potatoes, carrots, and caramelized onions combine with coconut milk to make a delicious spiced sweet potato soup for any meatless meal!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course dinner, Soup
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6 servings

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • ½ tablespoon coconut oil or any other oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 5 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato
  • 2 cups diced carrot
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 can original coconut milk
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼-½ teaspoon chili flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, heat coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add onion. Cook over medium heat until very soft and browned, about 7 minutes.
  • Add sweet potato, carrot, and garlic. Stir in stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
  • Stir in spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg, and salt. Remove from heat.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree vegetables with stock right in the cooking vessel. If an immersion blender isn’t available, the vegetables can be pureed in small batches in a food processor. Return to soup kettle.
  • Slowly stir in coconut milk. Heat until warmed through. The spices will heighten in flavor over time. This is a great soup to prepare early in the day and serve for dinner, but it is DELICIOUS any time of day.
Keyword soup, soup and stews, sweet potato, Vegan, vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Something about Jambalaya is cozy, warming. It isn’t quite a soup or stew, but it sure has that comforting feeling. It’s a dish that we every so often just happen to have all the ingredients for, although I never shopped for them specifically with the intent of making jambalaya. This chicken and sausage jambalaya skips the shrimp and comes together in about 40 minutes and even less if you are on top of things enough to have cooked rice ahead of time. 

About the rice

I may be a genius; Or maybe not, but let me share this awesome hack I had the last time I prepared jambalaya. I love a good long grain brown rice, but it takes time (35-40 minutes cook time plus the coming to temperature). It also takes up a burner while I am prepping everything else. But friends, it doesn’t need a lot of attention.

Enter the morning: As soon as I got done with my morning walk, I started heating 2 cups of chicken stock with some pepper and 1 cup long grain rice on the stove; Lowered it to a simmer once it was boiling, and let it do it’s thing. By the time I was done getting ready for the day and had my breakfast in me, my rice was done. Sweet! One less thing to worry about in the evening. It worked out perfect and a hack I will definitely be doing again!

I was able to throw the rest of this quick chicken and sausage jambalaya together after I got home from work on a weeknight. That’s a win, right? And we even had enough for us to eat it a second night, which is my jam. 

Ready to get cooking a delicious, comforting dish your family will love? Let’s go! 

Your Ingredients

  • 4 cups long grain rice, cooked
  • 1 large green pepper, diced
  • 4 stalks of celery, diced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic 
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
  • 16 ounces chicken breast, cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 3 Andouille sausage links, sliced into discs
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon cumin 
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder 
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dash of cayenne pepper if desired 

Your Steps to Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

If you haven’t cooked the long grain rice yet, get that started. I recommend cooking it in a little chicken stock with some pepper to add a flavor boost, but regular water with some salt and pepper will work just fine. Cook according to directions. (We always have regular rice on hand as well as brown Minute rice. We cook the one that matches our time frame, but check my hack in the intro!)

In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add green pepper, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Add remaining oil to the Dutch oven. Once hot, add seasoned chicken. Cook, stirring every couple minutes. At the six minute mark, add sliced sausage links. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Season with cumin, chili powder, thyme, and a dash of cayenne pepper. 

Stir in chicken stock and diced tomatoes. Heat to a boil, and then slower to a simmer. Add cooked rice and vegetable medley. Cook until heated through and thickened, 5-10 minutes. 

  • Dice up all the vegetables!
  • Cook up the proteins.
  • Add in some tomatoes and the veggies.
  • Serve it up!

Can I recommend some corn bread or sourdough to pair with this comforting meal? Click the links below to get the recipes!

Tools of the Trade

Oh my gosh, I love a good wooden spoon and while my pictures aren’t of a cast iron kettle this time, I almost always create all my dishes in a cast iron Dutch Oven. The best!

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

This one pot meal is full of good for you ingredients and flavor. It's sure to fill your belly and warm your soul with just a little kick of heat.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups long grain rice cooked
  • 1 large green pepper diced
  • 4 stalks of celery diced
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 16 ounces chicken breast cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 3 Andouille sausage links sliced into discs
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dash of cayenne pepper if desired

Instructions
 

  • If you haven’t cooked the long grain rice yet, get that started. I recommend cooking it in a little chicken stock with some pepper to add a flavor boost, but regular water with some salt and pepper will work just fine. Cook according to directions on package.
  • In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add green pepper, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add remaining oil to the Dutch oven. Once hot, add seasoned chicken. Cook, stirring every couple minutes. At the six minute mark, add sliced sausage links. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Season with cumin, chili powder, thyme, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
  • Stir in chicken stock and diced tomatoes. Heat to a boil, and then slower to a simmer. Add cooked rice and vegetable medley. Cook until heated through and thickened, 5-10 minutes.
Keyword Brown Rice, cast iron, chicken, jambalaya, one pot meals, sausage
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Skillet Cornbread

It’s soup season. And chili season. Really, it’s my favorite. I could chop, saute, and simmer soup or chili every weekend. The Mr. has a love of chili as well, especially during hunting season. And if I am cooking up a batch of chili, I can’t help but crave skillet cornbread. 

A number of years ago, I was making a kettle of chili and was longing for that perfect cornbread. I grew up with my dad making Jiffy cornbread often. He still does, and his love for corn muffins makes me smile. He often travels with a box as a “fun gift” for his grandkids. But alas, we didn’t have any gifted boxes this time. I did some Googling, played with a recipe or two, and developed this beauty. 

Don’t have a cast iron skillet? I am sure you could cook this skillet cornbread in a regular pan, but the skillet brings out this beautiful golden color that’s to die for. We adore our skillet and use it for baking, searing vegetables, and cooking protein. I love that it can go from the stove top to the oven and holds heat so well. Ours simply stays on the stove at all times; that’s how often it gets used! 

Enough on my love of cookware. Let’s get baking! 

Your Ingredients 

  • 1 ⅓ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 ⅓ cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt 
  • 5-6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons honey 
  • ¾ cup milk or almond milk 
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (or Oikos Triple Zero Vanilla Yogurt with zero added sugar) 

Your Steps to Skillet Cornbread 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin to heat the cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add butter. Heat until browned and beginning to smell nutty, about 7 minutes. Stir often. Remove from heat once browned. 

Meanwhile whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Whisk eggs, honey, almond milk, and Greek yogurt in a large bowl. Slowly stir in cooled butter, leaving some on the sides of the pan to grease it. Feel free to add an additional tab of butter to pan, melting it, to make sure the batter will not stick. I don’t think you need it, but you do you.

Slowly stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour this mixture into the prepared cast iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until it springs back when touched. Serve with additional butter and honey. 

Browned butter. The best.
Mix it up!
Perfectly baked.
And paired with some chili. Yum!

Tools of the Trade

Just one. I promise, a cast iron skillet is so versatile. Great for baking, searing, and more!

Skillet Cornbread

Perfectly baked, this cast iron skillet cornbread sweetened with honey is a great side dish full of comforting flavor!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 10

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ⅓ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 ⅓ cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 5-6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • ¾ cup milk or almond milk
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin to heat the cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add butter. Heat until browned and beginning to smell nutty, about 7 minutes. Stir often. Remove from heat once browned.
  • Meanwhile whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Whisk eggs, honey, almond milk, and Greek yogurt in a large bowl. Slowly stir in cooled butter, leaving some on the sides of the pan to grease it. Feel free to add an additional tab of butter to make sure the pan will not stick.
  • Slowly stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour this mixture into the prepared cast iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until it springs back when touched. Serve with additional butter and honey.
Keyword baking, cast iron, cornbread
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for some other recipes?

Might I recommend cooking up a batch of Wisconsin’s Cold Weather Chili to go with your cornbread? Get that recipe and more below!

JessLeave a comment

Hearty Lasagna Soup

It’s Sunday morning and I don’t have a plan for dinner yet. See, Sunday’s are generally a low key day for me. I might have a long run to do if I didn’t get it done on Saturday, but more often than not, my workouts are more minimal and I often spend the day creating in the kitchen. But sometimes I am not feeling overly experimental. When those weekends happen, I find myself falling on my two go tos: soups and stews or Italian. Recently, I merged the two together in a hearty lasagna soup. 

I adore all things Italian. First of all, pasta. Am I right or am I right? I know it’s a thing to cut all the carbs and gluten from your diet, but I am here to say I embrace them, but simply go in moderation. Second of all, Italian food is quite possibly the biggest comfort food for me. And finally, it ALWAYS pairs well with a salad and I am all about the salad life. 

So when I had some ground beef and ricotta in my fridge, but wasn’t in the mood to actually put together a true lasagna, I tried my hand at this soup. It was easier to make than I suspected it would be and honestly, I loved eating it over a few days as the noodles absorbed some of the liquid. It became more of a casserole over time, and I wasn’t complaining. It’s like two different meals in one! 

Now, I used ground beef in the initial recipe, but I definitely think I will use ground Italian sausage from here on out, and that’s the route I am going to go in this recipe. Also, if you don’t have ground Italian sausage on hand, you could totally use actual Italian sausage sliced up or with the skins removed. Also, my family said they would have liked the noodles a little smaller; I liked them the way they were, but you can find your own jam. 

Ready to get cooking?! Let’s put together some Hearty Lasagna Soup!

Your Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4 Tablespoons bread crumbs
  • 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan

Or skip these ingredients and substitute premade meatballs, but you know I’m all about made from scratch

  • 8 lasagna noodles, broken apart and then cooked according to package directions
  • 28 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 cups beef stock (My go to is this Orrington Farms Broth Base and Seasoning)
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • ½ cup diced onion 
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil 
  • ½  teaspoon black pepper (or red pepper flakes if that’s your jam!)
  • ¼-½ cup grated parmesan 
  • ¼ cup heavy cream 
  • Salt, to taste
  • Ricotta, for topping 

Your Steps to Hearty Lasagna Soup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil for less clean up. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Italian sausage, and Parmesan cheese. Shape into one inch meatballs and place on the jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through. 

While the meatballs are baking, you have a few tasks. First, cook the noodles to al dente if you have not already. Drain and set aside. 

Then begin to heat olive oil in a large dutch oven (I love my Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven so much!) over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Saute six minutes, until just translucent. Add mushrooms and cook an additional two minutes, until softened. Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, and pepper. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, beef stock, parmesan cheese, meatballs, and salt, if necessary. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Finally, stir in cooked noodles and heavy cream. Cook until heated through. Serve with a dollop of ricotta on top, a side salad (of course!), and perhaps some garlic bread for good measure. 

I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like comfort food at its finest. And it’s so much easier than prepping a lasagna! 

  • Baked the meatballs
  • Chop up some mushrooms and then
  • get that cast iron going! and add some
  • Add the tomato ingredients
  • And some meatballs and noodles
  • Let them simmer for a while.
  • And so good!

Looking for other dinner inspiration? Check out my cooking page by clicking the button below!

Cooking

Hearty Italian Soup

Any season is soup season and this hearty lasagna soup combines two of the best comfort foods: soups and stews and Italian. Doesn't get much better!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 4 tablespoons bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 8 lasagna noodles broken apart and then cooked according to package directions
  • 28 ounces diced tomatoes undrained
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper or red pepper flakes
  • ¼-½ cup grated parmesan
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • Salt to taste
  • Ricotta for topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil for less clean up. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Italian sausage, and Parmesan cheese.
  • Shape into one inch meatballs and place on the jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through.
  • While the meatballs are cooking, cook the noodles to al dente if you have not already. Drain and set aside.
  • Begin to heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  • Add onions and garlic. Saute six minutes, until just translucent.
  • Add mushrooms and cook an additional two minutes, until softened.
  • Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, and pepper. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add diced tomatoes, beef stock, parmesan cheese, meatballs, and salt, if necessary.
  • Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Finally, stir in cooked noodles and heavy cream. Cook until heated through. Serve with a dollop of ricotta on top.

Notes

Feel free to skip making your own meatballs and use pre made, frozen meatballs. 
Depending on if your tomato produces are salt free or not, you will need to add additional salt to bring out all the flavors. Be sure to taste test!
Keyword lasagna, lasagna soup, soup, soup and stews
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment