Rustic and Hearty Tuscan-style Soup

When damp, chilly weather arrives we crave warming soup at my house, and this one is right up there among the top favorites. I've shared this one before and I understand it's similar to, (or a copycat version of) Toscana soup as served at the Olive Garden restaurant. I can't vouch for that as I've never had it there.
Even though I enjoy soup at any time of year,  I only make this particular recipe when the temperatures are cool ~ it's very hearty and filling, almost like a stew.




As you can see, the ingredient list is simple; no exotic items and surprisingly, for such a flavorful outcome, you don't need to add extra seasoning except for some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I always increase the amount of veggies in the recipe as I prefer this soup chunky, and we all know they are good for us. :)

 

You can have this on your table within about 30 minutes. It's wonderful eaten straight after cooking it, and as with most soups it is fabulous reheated the next day. When reheating I usually add more of the greens just to liven up the color a bit.



It won't win any prizes for beauty, but for what it lacks in visual appeal it more than compensates in satisfying flavor.  I hope you'll give this one a try, it has to be among my top favorite 5 soups --- maybe in the top 3.
You can get the printable copy of the recipe over on my recipe site.

I'm so happy you came by to visit, have a lovely day!
~ mari  

Spicy Tuscan-Style Sausage Ragu (Slow Cooker recipe)

This is one of the very best pasta sauces I have ever tasted, different, but just as good as my own ~  surprisingly one of the easiest I have ever made, and from the slow cooker! Thick and rich,  full of sausage chunks and flavorful tomato pieces.  I could eat it by the spoonful, but it's meant to be served with large chunky pasta.

First the preliminary step is to brown the sausage in a skillet in a little olive oil, next 1 large red onion and two cloves garlic are finely chopped and added to the meat, cooked until onion is translucent, then 1/2 cup of dry red wine poured in to deglaze the pan. At this point the meat mixture is poured into the slow cooker, canned tomatoes are added (chopped whole tomatoes, and tomato puree; 1 -28 ounce can of each.) A sprinkling of salt, and the mixture is placed on low for 5 hours. One cup of heavy cream is stirred in, and the sauce is allowed to cook for another hour.

A there you have one fine, delicious recipe for Spicy Tuscan-Style Sausage Ragu with barely any work involved!  I hope you'll try it ~ it is soo good.


KEEPER!!!

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you'll find it HERE.

The recipe adapted from "The Italian Slow Cooker" by best selling cookbook author and expert on Italian cooking, Michelle Scicolone. (Scroll down if you are interested in looking through her book or purchasing it.)

After many years of cookbook collecting, I'm now fairly selective about which cookbooks will have a place in my library. I highly recommend this one ~ it is loaded with delicious Italian recipes such as: Pasta with Meat and Mushroom Ragu, Osso Buco with Red Wine, Chicken with Peppers and Mushrooms.

Healthy and flavorful recipes for soups, stews, beans, grains, pasta sauces, meats, poultry, fish and vegetables are included. Polenta and risotto, dishes that ordinarily need careful timing and lots of stirring, are perfectly cooked using Michele's methods and recipes. Meat loaves emerge moist and flavorful, tough cuts of meat turn fork-tender and juicy. Even desserts are included in the book, such as Cheese Cake, Chocolate Truffle Cake, Espresso Walnut Cake, and Baked Apples with orange, and more, all from the trusty slow cooker!

You can click below to look inside the book before purchasing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends! xo




Visit Foodie Friday!

Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper & Asiago Sausage

Hi friends! Is it just me, or does this summer seem as if it has been racing by?!

Family things, our critters, managing our bit of property, followed up by a delightful and most welcome visit from my brother and his charming wife have kept me from the internet lately. It's good to be back, and thank you for stopping by to visit!

This time I thought I would start off with a product review ~

I've been thinking that I would like to incorporate a couple of reviews each month of products I use or have tried. Occasionally these will be products offered to me from companies, other times they will be items I've tried on my own --- I'll make it a point to let you know if the product has been supplied to me, or not. But be assured, I always promise to give my honest evaluation!

Like these chicken sausages I decided to blog about. I just saw them in the store and they appealed to me---no coupons, promotions or compensation were offered.

To learn more about "al fresco" sausages and get a $1.00 off coupon click HERE.

If you've been following my blog for a while you probably know that I generally like to make most of our meals from scratch, but I have no problem supplementing "from scratch" with store-bought if the prepared foods are minimally processed and basically healthful.

Recently we tried the "al fresco" brand of 'Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper and Asiago' Sausages and were favorably impressed. They are fully cooked, so just a few minutes on a hot grill allowed us to have dinner on the table in mere minutes. While the grill was heating I mixed together a fast veggie salad for a refreshing accompaniment. Perfect for a hot summer evening meal.

The casings had a nice "pop" and the filling was juicy and flavorful-- not bland at all. The sausages are well seasoned with sweet roasted red pepper (not spicy), the slight hint of Asiago cheese rounded the flavor out very nicely.

You could certainly serve them on a bun, on pizza or in a pasta sauce, etc. but I opted to offer them with knife and fork this time. We liked the flavor so much that I skipped the condiments entirely. Delicious!

These received solid thumbs up at our house, I would buy them again, and I recommend them if you're looking for a quick, flavorful lunch or dinner. They would be wonderful as part of a mixed-grill dinner, too.

(I've received no compensation for this review.)

To keep the meal super easy I made a quick Black Bean and Corn salad--- with bits of red onion, sweet red bell pepper, flavored with ground cumin, a little Tabasco, and a simple dressing of fresh lime juice and vegetable oil, then seasoned with salt and pepper. It was a perfect complement to the grilled sausages. I essentially followed one of Rachel Ray's recipes with just a couple of changes; less Tabasco and I stirred in a few avocado chunks and some chopped cilantro just before serving, and offered an extra wedge of lime on the plate.

If you would like a copy of the recipe you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you for stopping by friends!