Big Man, Little Kitchen

Here’s one for my Vegan friends! I normally do not cook vegan food but Kris found this soup and it sounded amazing. Even omnivores will love it! Sweet curry and coconut milk give this a rich flavor.Gather the ingredients and get cooking. First thing to do is bake the sweet potato. Since I was making this on a weeknight, I cooked the sweet potato in the microwave to save some time. Poke some holes in the potato and microwave on high for about 7 minutes, let cool then cut into chunks. Now that the potato is done it is time to make the soup. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute onion and apple for 10-15 minutes. Add garlic and spices and cook for a minute. Add vegetable broth and sweet potato and bring to boil. Remove from heat and, working in batches, puree the soup in a blender. (as you can see, I made this pre-Vtamix).Return the pureed soup to the pot over medium heat. The soup is starting to look good now and smells amazing. Stir in baby kale and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.Stir in coconut milk and brown sugar. Heat through and adjust spices, as needed. We served the soup with some quick made croutons. I used a GF baguette. Cut into bite sizes pieces, toss with olive oil and garlic salt. Spread on a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Perfect to top the soup with.Serve in a large bowl and enjoy. Cheers!

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sweet curry powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
1 large sweet potato, baked and chopped
1 cup baby kale
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp brown sugar

Directions:
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium- high heat and saute the onion and apple for 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, curry powder, and cayenne. Cook for one minute.
Add vegetable broth and sweet potato, bring to boil. Remove from heat. Working in batches, transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth.
Return the pureed soup to the pot over medium heat. Add the baby kale and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and brown sugar and heat through. Adjust seasonings as needed. Add more broth if too thick. Serve with croutons, if desired.

A cold and snowy week means it is a perfect time for a bowl of soup. This is what I like to call a ‘Pantry’ recipe. Whatever I find in the fridge and pantry becomes the soup!! We had sausage and some left over roasted chicken so that made a great starting point.Simple to make and oh so tasty! Kz thinks this is a keeper. Cheers!

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
12 Oz smoked sausage
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas
2 cups spinach
Chicken stock
1 T Italian seasoning
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, sausage and chicken and cook for 8 minutes. Add garlic , cook one minute. Add tomatoes with juices and cook for a minute. Add spices and stir to coat. Add stock and peas, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Serve in large bowl. Top with parmesan cheese.

What do you do when you have some jalapeño cheddar brats but are to lazy to grill Them? Make soup of course! We get these excellent skinless brats from HyVee so they are perfect for making the soup – easy to crumble up. If you use brats in casings, simply remove the casings then crumble.Not too many ingredients for this soup. The brats are packed with flavor so you will only to salt and pepper, to taste. First step is to crumble the brats and toss in your Dutch oven. Saute of over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Next add the peppers, green chilies and onion. Saute for another 5 minutes. Add broth and sliced potatoes, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add cream, stir and heat through. Serve in large bowls, top with grated cheese. Cheers!

Ingredients:
3 jalapeno cheddar brats
1 red pepper, diced
1 orange pepper, diced
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium russet potatoes, sliced
¼ cup heavy cream
3 cups chicken stock
1 T Olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Crumble brats and add to pan. Saute about 5 minutes then toss in the peppers, onion and green chilies. Saute another 5 minutes. Add stock and sliced potatoes, bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in heavy cream and heat through. Serve in large bowls with cheese, sour cream, hot sauce……and enjoy.