food (food) | birthday dinner

Would you believe that for my own birthday I decided to cook?  Since I was lucky enough to share a birthday night with the Oscars (or should I say, they were lucky to host it on my birthday), there's no way I was going to miss it by sitting at a fancy restaurant.  Matt took me to my restaurant of choice the night before and for my birthday dinner I insisted on cooking a hearty minestrone italian sausage soup...mostly to make up for the indulgent dessert I was going to eat after. :)

Soups are one of my favorite things to make because it requires the least amount of attention.  It's so easy - get your prep done, toss it all in one pot and leave it alone til it's ready to serve.  Here's what you'll need for the minestrone italian sausage soup:

• 2 chopped stalks of celery
• 2 chopped medium zuchinni
• 2 chopped carrot sticks
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 chopped leek stem
• 1 chopped medium yellow onion
• 3 chopped cloves of garlic
• 1/2 bag of trimmed green beans chopped
• 1 can of kidney beans (drained)
• 1 can of garbanzo beans (drained)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic
• 6 cups of beef broth
• 1 lbs of italian sausage (I used half mild and half spicy)
• 2 tbsp of EVOO
• 1 tbsp of dried oregano
• 1 tbsp of dried basil
• 2 tbsp of black pepper
• 2 tbsp of salt

Directions:

1. In a large heated pot add EVOO and cook sausage until brown.
2. Add all chopped vegetables and mix evenly with sausage.
3. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano and dried basil. Mix evenly and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add canned tomatoes and beef broth.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, lower heat and bring to a boil for 40 minutes.
5. Add kidney and garbanzo beans.  Return to a boil and cook for 5 minutes until heated.
6. Serve with a heaping full of fresh parmesan cheese (optional).

I have to warn you - this makes a TON of soup.  So if you're looking for something that will freeze well or make you a lot of lunches for the week, definitely try this soup.  You can also make a meatless version without the sausage or you can substitute it for turkey italian sausage.  Since I'm not skimping on the calories these days I went for fully leaded sausage.

My birthday dinner was absolutely delicious and of course it wouldn't be a birthday without a yummy dessert.  Since I'm not the biggest fan of cake I opted for a piece of Chocolate Cream Pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Company.  If you're ever in the city you MUST stop by Hoosier Mama's.  Everything I've had from there is delicious and makes Keri Russell's pies from The Waitress look like they're store bought.

food (food) | turkey sausage, potato & kale soup

I love kale and turkey sausage, so combining those two ingredients together, you can guarantee it's a dish I always go back for seconds.  Inspired by Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, I came up with my own modified (and healthier) version that doesn't require heavy cream.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 package of turkey kielbasa sliced (Chicken andouille sausge is also a good substitute)
• 1 bag or bundle of chopped kale (I sometimes like having bigger chunks of kale so I'll break the leaves by hand vs. knife)
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 2 boxes of chicken broth
• 1 peeled and thinly sliced potato
• 1 tbsp worschester sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and saute for about 2 minutes before they start to become translucent.
3. Add potato to onion and 1/2 tbsp of salt and pepper.  Saute for another 5 minutes.
4. Add sliced turkey sausage and kale to mixture in the pot.*  Stir until all ingredients have been evenly mixed together.
5. Add both boxes of chicken broth and worschester sauce.  Mix and lower heat to medium-low.  
6. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes and serve.

*If you enjoy a little bit of spice add 1 tbsp of red pepper chili flakes to this step.