Toscana Soup - MY WAY!

This is a version of Toscana Soup like you find at Olive Garden, except I've made some changes to it because I like it slightly different. Creamier, a different sausage and some heavier flavors.... cause that's how I roll!

Toscana Soup

1 lb sausage - Now, I like to use breakfast sausage. Others like to crumble italian sausage or slice it... do what you like.

3 large russet potatoes, sliced in half and then cut into 1/4 inch slices. - I like to peel most of mine.

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cans of chicken broth

1 quart water - for the equivalent-challenged, that's 4 cups.. lol

1 cup heavy cream

Cook sausage - crumbled, add onion and garlic when it's nearly cooked through. I like to cook the onions till they're almost transparent.

Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, water and potatoes and cook on medium heat until potatoes are cooked through... usually about 20 minutes or so, check doneness with a fork. Now ... depending on how you like the crispness of your kale in the soup .... if you like it softer, like me, add the kale now. Once the sausage has been drained of grease and cooled, add the sausage mixture to the soup. Add pepper to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. For you crunchy kale lovers, add the kale now. Add cream and heat through. Now... before you serve this, taste it, cause sometimes it's missing a little something. Salt it, pepper it, add more garlic... you'll know what it needs! YUM YUM!

Chicken Bacon Dumplings

Ok, as promised, here's the recipe I made last night! It's SOOOO good. I found it on allrecipes.com

3 slices bacon (I used about 4, and cut them in half before frying them)
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced (you can leave this out if you don't like onions, it adds a nice flavor though)
4 chicken breasts - cooked and diced (I baked mine with some chicken grilling Mrs Dash, salt and butter... 425 for 35 minutes. YUM)
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp poultry seasoning (I used about 2 tsp Mrs Dash chicken grilling blend)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed (I used 2 cans of white shoepeg corn)
3 cups half and half

dumplings by direction on the Bisquick box (I believe it's 1 cup of Bisquick and 1/3 cup of milk)

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. (I don't a skillet deep enough, so I used my stock pot and it worked just fine) Cook over medium-high heat until brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Drain grease, but leave bacon drippings (the little brown specks left behind)

Add potatoes, onion and chicken to the bacon drippings and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in chicken broth, add seasonings. Stir in corn and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour in half and half and bring to a boil. Add crumbled bacon. In a bowl, combine milk and biscuit mix to make dumplings. Drop by the tablespoon into boiling mixture, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, then another 10 minutes covered. (Do not stir while simmering or the dumplings will break apart)

**variations. I noticed in some of the reviews some people added less half and half, or combined it with milk or used milk instead. Some also added celery and carrots to the mixture. Some left out the corn, potatoes and onion, saying it wasn't chicken and dumplings if it wasn't JUST chicken and dumplings. I added the notes to what I did, and it turned out perfectly. It will seem a little thin after it's done simmering, but if you let it sit for a little bit it'll thicken up. It's sooooooo good. SO good. YUMMY YUMMY!!!!

Taco Soup

This is a Paula Deen recipe... and OH. MY. GOSH... this stuff is SO good. It makes a lot, so be prepared to feed some people or freeze it!

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups diced onion (it makes it SO good)
2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2 ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6 ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced - optional (I did add these)
1/2 cup green olives sliced - optional (I did NOT add these)
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix (I like the Taco Bell one)
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish (not so much.. lol)

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet - drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stock pot. (I used my slow cooker) Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

OOOOOOOH you are gonna LOVE this soup!!!!!!!

AuGratin Soup

Got this one off the side of a potato sides box and added my own changes

1 pkg AuGratin potatoes
1 can chicken broth
2 1/2 cups water
carrots - sliced (as many as you'd like)
celery - sliced (as many as you'd like)
onion - diced (if desired)
1/2 cup half and half OR heavy whipping cream

Mix ingredients up to the cream (you'll add that when soup is done). Simmer 25-30 minutes then remove from heat. Add cream and stir.

*I like to sautee my celery and onion a little before adding them to the soup. I like the celery to be a little crunchy. I use butter, celery seed and garlic for my sautee.*