As strange as it sounds, I was not quite ready for the weather to warm up – don’t get me wrong, the more than 70 inches of snow we had this winter I was more than happy to see melting away, but I really love soup season and will be sorry to see it go.  There are few meals I enjoy more than a bowl of warm soup when it’s cold outside.  The warmth and sunshine today on the 1st official day of spring made me realize that it’s about time to make one last stew before our soup crocks go into hibernation for the summer.  This recipe was very easy to make and was quite hearty.  I omitted half the salt the original recipe calls for and I still thought it could have used even less – I also changed the proportion of sausage to mushrooms a bit to weight it more towards the meat.  Accompanied by a piece of toasted garlic bread, it was a fabulous farewell to cold weather.  While I will miss soup season, I am looking forward to busting out my ice cream maker for the summer!

Sausage and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

Directions:  In a large pot, brown the sausages until they are completely cooked through (about 10 minutes), then remove from the pan and cool.  Add the olive oil to the pan, and saute the onion and garlic until the onions are translucent – about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown.  Add the chicken broth, thyme and pepper flakes, 1 tsp dried parsley and the salt to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  In the meantime, slice the sausage into 1/8 inch thick slices.  Add the sausage to the soup, and the angel hair pasta.  Let cook for about 3-4 minutes or until pasta is cooked.    Enjoy!

Sunday marked the first snowfall of the year. A cold, wintry day calls for a warm hearty dinner. I love this recipe for Pasta e Fagioli. Since this soup is best when simmered for about an hour, it’s perfectly suited for weekend evenings when one has time to hang out in the kitchen. Preparing the vegetables was also a time-consuming process for me, as it took me awhile to julienne the carrots.

Due to copyright restrictions, I am unable to post the recipe here. However, you can find it on Top Secret Recipes. The flavor of this pasta e fagioli soup is very similar to the one found at Olive Garden, but this soup is thicker and seems to contain more pasta.

I have made very few changes to the original recipe. Due to personal preferences, I used crushed tomatoes in place of diced tomatoes and substituted ground turkey for ground beef. I also omitted the chopped celery, adding 1/4 tsp of celery salt for flavor.

When I prepared the pasta e fagioli soup this time, I found that the finished product was too thick, so I added 1 cup of chicken broth a few minutes before I served the soup. Next time, I might cut down on the pasta. According to Top Secret Recipes, this recipe yields 8 servings. In my experience, it yields 8 large servings! I’m going to try freezing some of the leftovers to keep on hand for quick weeknight meals.