Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup

When I was fortunate enough to live near a Carrabba's Italian Grill, I really enjoyed their sausage lentil soup. Then one day I was craving the soup... and now living 2 hours away from the closest Carrabba's... so searched All Recipes for a good substitute. I found this recipe, altered it a bit, and loved it; but honestly I don't remember the Carrabba's version well enough to say whether this is a close replica of theirs or not. It doesn't really matter to me though since I simply enjoy it for what it is, a deliciously spicy soup. Try using turkey Italian sausage to cut some calories.

Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup

3/4 to 1 pound hot Italian sausage (substitute sweet sausage if you don't want it too spicy)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup (about 3 ribs) celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound dry lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced or diced
5 cups water
7 cups chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

In a large pot, brown sausage until no longer pink. Drain grease and return to pot. Add onion, celery, and garlic, and saute until tender. Stir in lentils, carrot, water, chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic powder, parsley, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, and red pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until lentils are tender. Remove bay leaves and discard. Serve topped with grated cheese. Yields 10 to 12 meal-sized servings.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

Italian Baked Chicken and Shells

This casserole is easy to prepare and tastes delicious. I've tried it with a few different cuts of pasta and liked the small shells better than larger ones like rotini or penne. The butter on top tastes delicious but sometimes I get lazy and leave it off (while reminding myself how many calories are saved by skipping it). This also freezes well, but skip the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and then add them later once thawed and ready to bake.


Italian Baked Chicken and Shells

2 1/4 cups small shells
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter (optional)

In a large pot, boil the shells according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute oil, onion and garlic over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken and basil and saute a few minutes longer, stirring frequently to prevent the chicken from sticking.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and return to pot. Stir in the onion/chicken mixture, diced tomatoes with liquid, shredded cheese, salt, and pepper. Place in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dot with butter (if using) and bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

This recipe combines three of my favorites - soup, garlic, and tortellini - into one delightful meal. What could be better? I also love how the faint aroma of garlic lingers in the air for the rest of the evening, even after the soup's been stowed away in the fridge. For the tortellini, even though I'm usually a store brand kind of girl, I like using the Louisa brand (I get it at my local Wal-Mart). Louisa tortellini tastes excellent and at less than $3 for a bag doesn't cost much more than the store brand. I realized when I was typing the recipe up just now, that I forgot to chop my spinach before throwing it into the soup. So that step is not really necessary, except for those that don't like big pieces of spinach floating around in the broth.

This also makes quite a bit of soup, which is great for freezing. I have a nice container tucked away in my freezer right next to some of the Lentil Vegetable Soup that I fixed a few weeks ago.

The original recipe calls for Italian turkey sausage which admittedly is a delicious addition, but I usually skip that to make the recipe less expensive and lower in calories. But that's just me... so I've included optional instructions should you desire to include sausage.


Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups onion, medium diced
12 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3-1/2 cups water
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bag (20 ounces) frozen tortellini
1 bag (9 to 12 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil or 4-1/2 teaspoons fresh minced basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large pot, cook the onions with olive oil over medium-low heat until onions begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the broth, water, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and simmer for about 5 minutes (test a tortellini for doneness). Stir in the spinach, basil, pepper, and pepper flakes and simmer for an additional 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Serve with grated or shredded Parmesan cheese. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

Optional sausage version:
Remove the casings from 1-1/2 pounds of Italian turkey sausage and place sausage in a pot with the diced onion. Omit the olive oil. Cook, breaking up the sausage as you go, over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink. Add the garlic and proceed to follow the remaining directions in the recipe above. Yields 10 to 12 servings.

Recipe adapted from Healthy Cooking October/November 2008.

Penne in the Pink

This is the recipe we had earlier this week, but I made "Tortellini in the Pink" as an experiment. Although it tasted great, the tortellini-to-sauce ratio wasn't quite right. I used 20 ounces of tortellini which despite weighing more, makes up less mass than 16 ounces of plain pasta. So for that reason, I recommend trying this with regular pasta since that's how the recipe is supposed to be made. Also, be sure to read about the surprising alternate way to make it with a lot less fat, a trick I learned from the family who gave me the recipe several years ago. One thing though about making it this way is that the sauce will be less "pink" but that's just cosmetic. (The sauce pictured was made the alternate way.) Personally, I think the unhealthy version tastes best (of course), but my husband says that he likes the healthy one better and it's one of his all-time favorite meals.


Penne in the Pink

1 lb. penne
1/2 stick butter
3 c. prepared pasta sauce
1 c. heavy cream
3/4 to 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. dry basil or 1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot; add butter and stir gently until melted. Stir in pasta sauce and whipping cream until combined. Add cheese and basil. Heat on medium-low until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly, stirring occassionally to prevent sticking. Serve immediately. Yields 6-8 servings.

Alternate Healthy Version: Substitute a can of white beans for the the whipping cream. Sounds bizarre? I know, but it really is pretty good. Simply place the undrained beans into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. (For some extra flavor, throw a clove of garlic in before pureeing.) This is a bit thicker than cream, so doesn't exactly replicate the texture, but what do you save in calories and fat? First you save half the calories (about 400). And with 80 grams of fat in 1 cup of cream and only 3 grams of fat in a can of beans, almost all of the fat is eliminated.