Cheater Soup
I'm a bit of a food snob. I prefer my meal ingredients fresh, not frozen, and made from scratch instead of from a box. I make my own chicken stock, my own vanilla, my own ice cream, and my own pie crust. There are a few exceptions to this, things I can't (or haven't found a way to) make myself. Like tater tots. Which are perfect as they are, crispy as God intended.
Last night I made a soup that I was sure I wouldn't like because its base started with jarred pasta sauce; I don't even use jarred pasta sauce when eating pasta. I had clipped it from the newspaper ages ago and held onto it as an in-a-rush meal, and I'm really surprised with how good it turned out.
olive oil
16oz kielbasa sausage
1lb mushrooms
1 jar pasta sauce
chicken stock
1 can white kidney beans
Slice the sausage (I used turkey, but anything would work) and the mushrooms (but don't let your mushroom-averse boyfriend know that you're using a whole pound). Drizzle a few teaspoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and saute the sausage and mushrooms for about 2 minutes.
Add in 1 part of pasta sauce and 1 part of chicken stock: I used 2 cups of each because I froze my chicken stock in 2- and 3-cup bags. Turkey stock would work great for this (Why don't you boil your turkey carcass after the holidays to get yummy turkey stock? My freezer is full of it.), but then I'd use a beef or pork sausage instead. Add in a can of drained, rinsed kidney beans.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, but not much if using canned chicken broth instead of stock (which is already pre-seasoned). Serve with french bread, toasted hot from the oven. Be amazed that it doesn't taste like jarred pasta sauce.
Leave a comment