Nothing feels better than enjoying a hot cup of soup when you’re suffering from a bad cold. The delicious soup soothes your sore throat as you’re snuggled on the couch, and makes the chilly weather feel much cozier. I can’t think of a better way to warm up inside this winter than cooking homemade soup.
Italian Wedding Soup
This is one of my recent favorite soups to make, though it is not your typical Italian wedding soup. Instead of preparing meatballs, I purchase a pack of six Italian sausages and used that as my meat. It’s easier, cheaper and tastes just as delicious.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- ½ lbs. Italian sausage
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 cup acini de pepe pasta
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large carrots
- 3 ribs celery
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cooking instructions:
1. Grab a large cooking pot and pour the chicken broth in. Cook over medium-high heat. Let the chicken broth sit until it comes to a boil.
2. While the chicken broth is heating, cut your sausage into bite-sized pieces and drop them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the parsley, salt, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, oregano and cracked egg into the mixture. Mix until the sausages are evenly covered in seasoning.
3. Once the chicken broth comes to a boil, pour the pasta into the pot. Add water and stir the pasta every couple minutes.
4. Slowly pour olive oil over a skillet or large frying pan and add the sausage mixture. Let the sausage cook on its own for about 2-3 minutes and then add the chopped vegetables into the pan. To save time, I usually buy pre-chopped vegetables from the grocery store, but you can chop your own too. Cook for about 6-8 minutes in the pan.
5. Add the veggies and sausage into the large pot and stir for a minute. Grab your desired soup bowl and dig in. I like to add some extra cheese and pepper on top of my bowl.
Turkey Chili
My mom has made chili ever since I was little. I always get so excited for November because that’s when it gets cold enough to eat chili. I started trying out some new chili recipes this year and this one might be my new favorite.
Ingredients:
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound pulled turkey
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow or red onion
- 1 can of sweet corn
- 1 diced tomato
- 2 cans dark red kidney beans
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cooking instructions:
1. Grab a large cooking pot and pour in the chicken broth, then set on the stove at medium-high heat. Let sit until it comes to a boil.
2. Grab the pulled turkey and cook on a skillet or frying pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Chop the vegetables while the turkey is cooking.
3. Add the vegetables to the pan and mix with the turkey. Once the turkey is cooked, add chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Stir for no longer than 30 seconds.
4. Add the kidney beans to the chicken broth and stir for about a minute. Next, add the cooked mixture into the pot of chicken broth.
5. Stir everything together for a couple of minutes and let sit for about 25-30 minutes, or until the chili is thickened. You can add some shredded cheese and sour cream to top it off and enjoy.
Creamy tomato pumpkin soup
One of my favorite meals is a cup of soup with a turkey sandwich, and this soup goes perfectly with a delicious sandwich. I don’t often like pumpkin-flavored foods, but this tomato pumpkin soup is a very worthy exception.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 cans roasted tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- ½ red onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 leaves fresh sage
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Optional: 1 tbsp maple syrup
Cooking instructions:
1. Grab a large pot and add the olive oil. Set stove to medium heat.
2. Sauté the diced onion in the pot for about 3 minutes, or until it looks almost clear.
3. Add salt, garlic, pepper, paprika and cherry tomatoes. Sauté for about 4-6 minutes.
4. Then, mix in the roasted tomatoes, pumpkin purée, vegetable broth and balsamic vinegar and stir. You can also add the maple syrup for sweetness in this step too, if you like.
5. Leave the soup uncovered to simmer for about 17-20 minutes and stir every few minutes.
6. Once the soup is done, let it cool for a couple of minutes.
7. If you want your soup to be perfectly creamy, pour it into a blender and blend for no more than 1 minute. Pour the soup back into the pot and keep warm until the soup is ready to be served.
8. Add some extra cheese or shallots on top, or toast a sandwich to dip. Then enjoy!
Soup is everyone’s friend this winter, so let’s celebrate soup season, Hoosiers!
