Soup for You
We don’t have many cold, miserable days in Tucson, but every so often it gets chilly and soup is in order. We had a day like that in mid-December, which gave me an excuse to finally enjoy the chicken soup at Little Cafe Poca Cosa (on north side of the main library, 8am-2pm M-F, cash only, muy delicioso; I recommend the mole, and everything else for that matter).
Turns out that soup can also be ridiculously easy to make at home. Like everything else in the kitchen, you just have to shop and plan ahead a bit, and you can whip up a big enough batch to leave leftovers – the flavors are often better the second day. Here’s a very easy and kid-friendly recipe that we just discovered. Enjoy!
Italian Sausage Minestrone
Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Comfort food
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 or so
Delicious and easy minestrone recipe – quick prep too.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce olive oil (splash in the pan)
- 1 carrot – peel and chop it
- 1 garlic clove, peeled, or 1 tsp crushed garlic from a jar (add more if you like garlic)
- 1/2 of an onion – peel it and chop it
- 1 celery stick – chop it
- 32 oz (1 box) of chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf (not critical but adds flavor)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste, or 1/2 tsp each if you don’t know what that means
- 1 package Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian chicken sausage (other sausage will work fine, but these are low in fat and sugar)
- 1 can garbanzo beans (optional, if you tolerate legumes)
- 1 bunch of spinach, washed and chopped (or just buy a bag of baby spinach and toss in some handfuls)
- Shredded parmesan cheese (optional but yummy)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat for about 5 mins
- Saute (cook uncovered and stir periodically) the carrot, garlic, onion, and celery with the olive oil until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and spices, and simmer for 15 minutes (low heat, partially covered – put the lid on at an angle).
- While the soup is simmering, slice the sausages lengthwise and chop into bites, to your preference. I get out the ruler and make each piece 1 cm wide. (not really, but I do slice the sausages lengthwise into quarters)
- Add sausages, beans, and spinach to the veggies and heat through, about 2 minutes, The spinach will wilt.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, serve, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
In the past I have struggled with my weight constantly going up and down and staying healthy. I’ve always lost weight by taking in less calories and increasing my activity. It was difficult because I would be hungry and tired all of the time.
I’ll have to try this!