Sausage, Tortellini & Spinach Soup.

It was another soup & bread day in my kitchen. Yum! This hearty soup is a twist on chicken noodle: it uses turkey sausage and cheese tortellini, and adds mushrooms & spinach. With both the sausage and the tortellini, it makes a filling meal. The crumbled prosciutto on top adds great flavor and texture. 

• 1 package of turkey Italian sausage or bratwurst, cut into 1 inch pieces or smaller
• 64 ounces chicken broth
• 1 package fresh cheese tortellini
• 1 box cleaned, sliced mushrooms
• 6 large handfuls fresh spinach
• 2 tsp parsley
• 2 slices prosciutto, cooked until crisp and crumbled

In stock pot or large soup pot, cook turkey sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add mushrooms and parsley.  Cook for two minutes.  Add tortellini and cook for 5 minutes or according to package directions.  Stir in spinach and cook for 1 more minute. Ladle into bowls and serve with a sprinkling of prosciutto crumbles on top.

Prosciutto, Pear, & Lemon Stilton.

Quick and elegant, with a nice mix of flavors. Just the way a busy girl likes to cook!  I made one pear's worth for lunch (about 10 pieces) and every time I turned around, one was missing and the remaining wraps were rearranged on the plate. Rave review, indeed!

• prosciutto
• pear, peeled & sliced
• Stilton cheese with lemon, sliced

Wrap a slice of pear & a slice of Stilton in a piece of prosciutto and enjoy!

Endive and Pears with Blue Cheese.

Quick little salad with great flavor. Received rave reviews at my table!  This makes a flavorful side dish with pork or chicken.

• Belgian endive, one head per serving, sliced crosswise into bite-sized pieces
• fresh pear, chopped (1 pear is enough for 2 servings)
• lemon juice
• dried cranberries (1 T per serving)
• blue cheese (1 T per serving)

Toss chopped pair in a small amount of lemon juice.  Then, gently toss all ingredients together. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Chili with Ground Beef and Vegetables.

Cooler weather brings out my soup pots.  I love homemade soups of all kinds and find that making a big batch of soup and some fresh bread quickly brings my family to the table!  This recipe is for a simple chili, made with a combination of fresh and canned ingredients. When using canned ingredients, it's important to pay attention to quality; I use the most whole canned ingredients I can find, with the fewest bonus ingredients possible.

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 6 stalks celery, sliced crosswise
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can light red kidney beans
• 2 can diced tomatoes
• dried seasonings: garlic powder, oregano, chili powder, parsley

Brown ground beef (or turkey) in dutch oven or large soup pot.  Add onion and celery and cook until tender.  Stir in beans and tomatoes. Season to taste. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Enjoy with crusty bread and fresh fruit.

Turkey Sausage, Beans & Vegetables.

This is a quick and easy dish to prepare on a chilly night. Served with fresh bread and some crisp apple slices, this is a filling and healthy meal!

• 1 package of lean turkey Italian sausage or bratwurst, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bag prewashed spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed

Cook sausage and sliced onion over medium heat until sausage is cooked through.  Stir in beans and cook for five minutes over medium heat, until beans are heated through.  Add spinach and whole tomatoes. Gently stir in. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook five more minutes, until spinach is wilted and tomatoes begin to split open.

Summer Squash Spaghetti.

The working title for this dish was Simple Amazing Pasta, but, as my daughter said, "something this amazing deserves a little more descriptive name."  But, it IS simple. REALLY simple. And it is amazing.  Super fresh ingredients are the key.

• thin spaghetti
• zucchini & yellow summer squash, sliced crosswise with a mandoline slicer
• fresh Asiago cheese, shredded
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• olive oil

I prepared this dish for two, so I used approximately two servings of pasta, about a 1/4 cup of Asiago, half of a very small zucchini and half of a very small yellow squash, sliced very thin with my mandoline slicer.

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions, adding 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the water.  With two minutes remaining for the pasta to cook, add the squash to the boiling water.  After two minutes, quickly drain pasta & squash in a colander and return to cooking pan.  Gently mix in Asiago and transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and serve.

This takes about 12 minutes total. Simple. Amazing. Pasta.

Marinated Tomatoes with Pasta.

I bought some spinach & basil fettucine at the farmer's market this week.  Inspired by a picture on the front cover of this month's Martha Stewart Living, i picked up some yellow & red cherry tomatoes and went home to make this recipe.

• pasta (spinach & basil fettucine was amazing!)
• cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup fresh basil, torn
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 T rice vinegar
• fresh sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

optional: Parmesan or Asiago cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Mix other ingredients together, except cheese; once mixed, let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.  Drain cooked pasta. Mix tomato mixture into hot pasta and toss. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Serve with a green salad.