I love soup and I love beans so this recipe is perfect in every way. I found the original recipe on The Pioneer Woman website, but I changed it dramatically. I just made this again the other day, and I think it might be one of my favorite soup recipes.

You can make it with sausage or not.  I did a batch for some friends that don’t eat meat, so I just left it out.  My friend sent me a text asking for the recipe yesterday, so I guess they liked it.  Yay!   With or without meat – this soup is delicious and the chopped kale gives it heartiness, plus kale is so good for you.  We served ours with a salad and some garlic bread.  Since it is freezing outside, soup would be a perfect dinner for tonight!

Tuscan Bean Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage, optional

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 to 2 carrots, peel and cut into circles

1 – 6 ounce can of tomato paste

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp of Italian seasoning

6 cups of chicken broth, or vegetable broth if you prefer

1 – 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 – 14.5 ounce can of Italian diced tomatoes

4 – 14.5 ounce cans of white beans, I use Great Northern.  Drained and rinsed

1 large bunch of kale, rinsed and torn into small pieces

Fresh basil

Parmesan cheese

In large pot cook the Italian sausage.  Breaking it up as you cook it. Remove any excess of oil, if necessary.  I like to leave some to cook the veggies in.  Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add in carrots and continue to cook for a few more minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir and cook for a couple of minutes, getting up the yummy bits off the bottom of the pot.  Stir in red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning and then add the broth and let it cook for a few minutes.  While it is cooking, I start opening the cans of tomatoes and beans.  Don’t drain the tomatoes, but do drain the beans into a colander and rinse well.  Add the tomatoes and stir and then finally add the beans.  Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or more.  Rinse the kale and tear into bite sized chunks.  You don’t want to leave the kale too large, since it doesn’t cook down too much and stays pretty hearty.    I wait until about 15 minutes before I am ready to eat to add the kale.  I like to have look nice a bright and green.  I sometimes add some fresh parsley at this time too and then just before serving I add fresh chopped basil.  I top with a bit of fresh Parmesan cheese.  Yum!

Cindy

We love our parmesan pasta recipe and we make it quite often.This time, I decided to add bacon and sautéed butternut squash to it. It was delicious! The sort of sweet, creamy butternut squash mixed with the salty and crunchy bacon and the always delicious parmesan pasta…this dish is amazing. The unfortunate thing was I pretended that I was eating something really healthy because of the squash so I ate way too much.

Parmesan Pasta with Butternut Squash & Bacon

1/2 pound of bacon

1 pound of butternut squash

1 red onion

1 Tablespoon of minced garlic

1/2 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes

Ingredients for pasta:

1 lb. dried pasta

1 stick of butter (I know, it’s a lot but totally worth it)

1/2 cup milk (I use 1%, cuz I’m healthy that way)

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, along with fresh herbs if desired.

I started out with pre-cut organic butternut squash from Costco – so easy! After frying up the bacon, I scooped out most of the grease. I probably kept about 1 T of bacon grease in the pan. I added a chopped red onion and garlic and I cooked it for about 1 minute. I then added about 1 pound of cubed butternut squash. Sauté for several minutes, until soft. Add about 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes and continue cooking, until squash is soft. Once the squash is to the desired consistency, add the chopped bacon, and set aside until the rest of your pasta is ready.

While the squash is cooking, start cooking your pasta and preparing the sauce:

Cook pasta following package directions. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce: put all of the sauce ingredients into a large measuring cup and heat it in the microwave. It normally takes about 2 minutes, but you want to watch it – you don’t want any of that yummy goodness to boil over and end up in the microwave instead of on your pasta! So I normally microwave it for one minute and check it and then just let it sit until the pasta is finished and then heat it for the next minute once the cooked pasta is drained and back in the pot. Pour the completely melted and sort of bubbly sauce mixture over the top of the cooked pasta and mix well.

Add the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and mix well. Then add the bacon and squash mixture and mix again.

When serving, we grate a bit of fresh Parmesan cheese over the top and if we are feeling particularly fancy, we add some fresh herbs such as basil or Italian parsley.

And now in honor of Thanksgiving, here are a few recipes that would be perfect to complete your delicious Thanksgiving spread!

Corn Casserole

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Faux Banana Cream Pie

And in case you have any leftovers…

Ham & Swiss Cheese Quiche

Chicken Pot Pie– just substitute turkey.

Cindy

This Italian pasta and bean soup is hearty and very inexpensive. Jordan loves it and often requests that I make it. Last week we had several days of chilly weather, so this was a perfect warm and hearty meal. You can add cooked chicken or sausage to it, but we always eat it without meat. Just add the cooked meat when you add the pasta and allow enough time for it to heat through.

This recipe came from a book that I borrowed from the library – it’s all about being thrifty. I think it was actually called Be Thrifty – catchy huh? Being the thrifty gal I am, I didn’t buy the book, I just copied this page out of it! I modified the recipe a bit to suit our tastes.

Pasta e Fagioli
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cans broth, whatever kind you like. Chicken, beef, vegetable, all good. I use the bouillon cubes and water, keeping with the thrifty theme.
3 -14 1/2 ounce cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pesto sauce
4 – 15 ounce cans beans – I use a combo of white and red beans. The recipe calls for white and kidney beans. Use whatever you like or have in your pantry
2 to 3 cups of cooked pasta, again whatever you have. The recipe calls for elbow macaroni.

1/3 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
Additional pesto for garnish
Fresh basil

Heat oil in Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook while getting the carrots ready. Add the carrots and continue cooking for about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic, broth, tomatoes with their juice, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir and then cover and bring to a boil. While the soup is cooking, I start opening the cans of beans and I drain and rinse them and then add to the soup and continue cooking on low with the lid on.

In a separate pot, cook the pasta. I normally under cook the pasta just a bit. When finished cooking, drain and set aside.

After about 20 minutes to 30 minutes, or close to when you’re going to eat, add the cooked pasta. It is a bit more work to cook the pasta separately, but I think it makes a huge difference in the consistency of the finished product.

Serve with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, pesto and basil on top.

Southern chicken casserole is a super easy dish that I have been making for several years. A friend had this cookbook of recipes from around the world that she shared with me when we were doing a homeschool project. I happened to find this recipe when I was looking for Chinese food recipes. This is clearly not from China!

I haven’t made it in awhile, but Travis came home this weekend and I knew he would enjoy it. I have modified the original recipe a bit- the way the recipe was written there is just too much creamy stuff! This is a great make ahead dish and it is perfect for a potluck. It’s a bit of a hassle because you have to cook the chicken and rice first, but after that it comes together quickly.

Southern Chicken Casserole

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
4 cups cooked rice, cooled
2 cups celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package Stove Top stuffing
2 1/2 ounces olive oil

Mix first 8 ingredients. Place into a greased 9 x 13″ pan. Mix stuffing mix with olive oil and pour over the top of the chicken and rice mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for approximately 45 minutes. I keep the casserole covered so the stuffing doesn’t get too brown. You can remove the foil if it doesn’t seem to be getting brown enough for your liking.