Vegetarian Sausuage and Peppers Soup

This is really hearty, really filling, really good for you.

Serves two, or double it for more. I only had a little fake sausage left and so made a small amount.

Ingredients:

Gimme Lean Ground Sausage - 1/4 tube

2 Green Peppers, roasted

1 roma tomato

1/3 of a large spanish onion, diced

1 teaspoon olive oil

.5 tablespoon whipped butter

5 cloves garlic

Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon

1-2 cups water

Cayenne pepper (optional)

First you will roast your peppers. Poke some holes/slits in with a knife so there is no risk of explodey peppers. Stick them in the oven on about 425 on a baking sheet or foil. Turn them every 10 minutes or so. When they are mostly black and splotchy (and/or start to look dangerously collapsey) take them out, and put them in a bowl covered with Saran wrap for 10 minutes or so. This lets the skin detach a little better. When cool enough you can peel them and remove the stem.

One of these peppers is going into the blender. The other one, chop up into small pieces.

Start off some garlic in your butter and oil in a medium pot. Add in small pieces of the ground sausage bit by bit. Then add your diced onions. When your sausage starts to brown and the onion looks a little translucent, add your chopped roasted green pepper too. If you want this a little spicey add some cayenne pepper here, too.  Cover, let simmer. Keep this on low and stir occasionally so nothing gets burnt or sticky. 

Chop your tomato into big pieces and stick that in the blender with your first roasted pepper. Add a little water. Blend until soupy, a few chunks are OK.

Add your blended veggies, one cube of bullion, and the rest of your water to the pot. Let this simmer for 10-20 minutes (longer is fine) so the bullion cube dissolves and the flavors get all nice and mixy. 

Serve!

Friggin amazing on its own or with added mozzarella, romano cheese, croutons or garlic bread.  

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have long had a love affair with broccoli cheese soup and interestingly never made it.

Years ago, a friend's dad earned my cook-y respect in a major way by serving me his homemade broccoli soup that he made in a crock pot with cream cheese, frozen broccoli and cream (or milk? I can't remember).

More recently I had to break up with Panera's broccoli cheese soup when I learned it was not vegetarian. (Yeah, I guess the fact that there was no little "V" should have tipped me off earlier but what can I say... I was a woman in love.)  It was a rough breakup.

Anyway, here's my recipe from the other night. It came out really tasty. I didn't have any onions in the house, but if I had I would have added those too.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 cup water 

1 extra large knorr vegetarian vegetable bullion cube

1 cup milk

2 oz shredded cheddar.

8 oz whipped cream cheese

2 fresh broccoli heads, chopped up into very small pieces. You can get a little stem in there too.

Start off your garlic with your butter simmering in the pan. You want the garlic to get a little brown but not burnt. When that's accomplished, add your water and your bullion cube and stir. You can raise the heat. Add your broccoli too. Let your bullion do its bullion thing.

Now you're going to add your dairy stuff.

First add the cream cheese and STIR LIKE THE DICKENS. You want it to melt in. Stir a lot, keep the heat on the low side because if it boils it can separate (which doesn't really affect the flavor but looks pretty ugly).  When the cream cheese is incorporated fully into the soup, add your shredded cheddar and again, stir like the dickens until it is fully melted in. Add your cup of milk, still stirring.

When your milk, cheese and broth are well mixed and soup is hot enough to eat, it's done!

Serves 3-4.