Minestrone Casserole

I LOVE minestrone soup, but it isn't really soup season...although soup would be good at anytime. But I saw this on $5 dinners last week and thought it was perfect! I did alter it a bit, because I was missing some of the ingredients, but you can put anything you like it in as far as veggies go and also came together fast!

Minestrone Casserole-adapted from $5 Dinners
3 Italian Sausage links, casing removed
2 cups beans(I used small white beans)
1-2 cups sliced zucchini(mine was pre-cooked)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tbsp italian seasoning
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 lb egg noodles, cooked(or pasta of your choice)
10 oz box chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well(omitted)

Cook and crumble sausage until browned. Add in garlic and saute for 5 mins. Add in zucchini and cook until tender. Stir in beans, italian seasoning, and tomatoes. Cook until heated through. Stir in noodles. Serve with parmesan cheese.

I didn't bake it into a casserole. If you wanted to do that place the noodle mixture into a pan and top with cheese bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins until cheese is melted.

**This

Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Peppers, and Kale

I found some natural chicken sausages marked down at the store one day. They were provolone and wine flavored thought they sounded interesting, but once I got home I wasn't sure what to do with them! Then I found this recipe and thought it sounded perfect for them. You can use any kind of sausage of course! I also replaced the escarole with Kale, I never had it before, but I knew I liked Kale.

Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Peppers, and Kale-adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes
1 lb chicken sausage
3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
1 lb pasta
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cook sausage until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. In hot pan, add in peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook for about 5 mins until tender. Add in kale and cover for about 3 mins, stir and continue cooking for another 3 mins until kale is wilted. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Mix together veggies, pasta, and sausage. Add in crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and water. Stir to combine. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

**This was tasty and different. The sausage had a unique flavor to it, not sure if will be something I purchase again, but it was still tasty! I loved all the veggies that are in it, of course I had added more! This could easily be adapted to vegetarian. It was an easy dish to prepare and perfect for a light meal!

Sausage and Lentil Soup

This is supposed to be a Carraba's recipe...but I was unaware that they had a soup like this. It's probably because we don't normally get soup when we eat out! I haven't' been to a Carraba's lately either...and I LOVE their food, so I really don't know how this compares!

Sausage and Lentil Soup-shared from Mama Bird's Nest
6 cups chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 lb italian sausage, browned/drained(I used 1/2 sweet, 1/2 hot)
2 cups dry lentils
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt, pepper, red pepper,basil, oregano, thyme, to taste

Place all ingredients into your slow cooker. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Enjoy!

**This was pretty tasty and very hearty! K I don't think was much of a fan he compared it to some soup I made last week that I now can't remember what it was! Even Q loved the lentils, A wouldn't touch it!

Cajun Jambalaya Soup

K likes Jambalaya, which I have tried to make before. Not sure how authentic it was, but I can across this recipe and KNEW he'd love it especially with the sausage in it!

I did miss the part where it says to make a roux and just added the broth. So if you do the roux it might be a bit thicker, but we actually really liked it without it!

Cajun Jambalya Soup-shared from Loving my Domestic Life
1 onion, diced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 lb italian sausage(I used half hot and half sweet)
1/2 lb chopped ham
10 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce(more or less to taste)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked rice

Brown sausage until no longer pink. Drain on paper towel. Brown ham, remove from pan and set aside. Saute peppers, celery, and onion for about 5 mins.  Add in broth and seasonings and bring to a boil. Add in ham, sausage, and rice. Bring back to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for another 10 mins.

**The flavors of this soup were amazing! I haven't done a lot with liquid smoke, but it really added some depth to the soup and made it quite tasty. It is definitely a keeper!