Creamy Italian Sausage and Bean Soup

We love soup at our house. I mean, really, what's not to love about a belly-warming bowl of goodness, especially on a frosty night like tonight? Soup has all the simplicity and versatility of a casserole without turning up any noses by its name. Even though I love my old standbys--taco soup, lasagna soup, baked potato soup, broccoli cheese soup, and white chili--I'm always on the lookout for a new favorite. Made in one pot, in under 30 minutes, and chock full of delectable flavor (plus a healthy serving of vegetables), this soup is definitely going at the top of my list.

There is one thing a little, well, strange about this recipe. It calls for an undrained can of beans.

I know, I know--I freaked out a little bit, too. I've never used a can of beans without draining it! What even is that cloudy goop I normally drain and rinse away? The first time I made this recipe, I reread it at least three times to make sure I understood correctly, and then I crossed my fingers and prayed I wasn't ruining the whole batch when I dumped in the can, goop and all. But it came out great!

Turns out, that goop is just salt, water, and the starch generated by the beans themselves, so it's actually quite useful for thickening and flavoring. Who knew? Well, now we both do, and I'm sure I'll be experimenting with bean goop more often from now on.

BTW, this soup was extra yummy served with some Ritz crackers crumbled on top.

Creamy Italian Sausage and Bean Soup

Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 15 min

Serves 5

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

1 (15.5 oz) can undrained cannellini beans

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a stockpot, cook sausage. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in the stockpot. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper then cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent.

Stir in flour.

Slowly add the evaporated milk and chicken broth while stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a complete boil, add sausage and beans.

Heat through, and season with salt and pepper.

526 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Taco Mac

I don't know how on earth I missed this recipe all these years! Once I found it, I realized versions of it were all over the internet, but I loved it so much I had to add it to my own blog, as well. I'm a big fan of chili mac and taco spaghetti, which are similar to this in many ways, so it's no big surprise that I loved this familiar combo of meat, cheese, pasta, and tomatoes. Add in some taco seasoning, and you've got an easy, tasty new dish that should please just about everyone. Especially since it's made in one pan in under 30 minutes!

Taco Mac

Prep time 5 min, Cook time: 30 min

Serves 4

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced
1 (10 oz) can tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning
1 1/2 cup elbow noodles
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar (or Mexican blend cheese)

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with onions over medium heat. Drain off any grease.

Add the can of tomatoes, broth, milk, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Increase heat to medium high until the mixture begins to simmer.

Stir in noodles and reduce heat to low. Cover and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, until noodles are tender.

Stir in shredded cheese until melted. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Italian Sausage Gnocchi

Meat, starch, veggies, a deceptively simple but delicious cream sauce, all topped with melty mozzarella cheese and made in one pan in under 30 minutes??? Sounds like a fantasy dinner, right? Go ahead and pinch yourself if you want, but you're not dreaming! This dish is a complete meal that is uh-maze-ing in every way.

If you've never heard of gnocchi (pronounced nyoh-key), they are puffy, little, potato-based pillows that cook up in minutes. You can make them yourself if you have spare time, but you can also buy a great premade version in the pasta aisle of your grocery store. Gnocchi can be used as a substitute for pasta in just about any dish. Trust me, you're gonna love it!

Creamy Italian Sausage Gnocchi

Prep time: 5 min, Cook time: 15 min

Serves 5

1 lb mild Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil

3/4 cup heavy cream
16 oz gnocchi
2-3 cups fresh spinach
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté your sausage, onion, garlic and seasonings until browned. Drain and return to pan.

Add in the tomatoes, cream, gnocchi, and spinach and heat until gnocchi is cooked, spinach is wilted and some of the cream has reduced (about 8-10 minutes).

Stir in the shredded mozzarella cheese until melted. (You could totally leave out the cheese if you wanted to save a few calories, but if you're eating this dish, I doubt you're counting, so why not go all out?!)

Amish Maple Frosted Sugar Cookies

The other day, a friend of mine posted a recipe for maple pie. Then I saw a recipe for maple donuts. Then I watched a Hallmark movie that featured a candy shop that specialized in maple candy. I took it as a sign from God that I was meant to make something maple-flavored as soon as possible. I scoured Pinterest and amassed a collection of possibilities so vast I'd need a lifetime of autumns to try them all. Of course, then I had to narrow it down to just one to try first!

Cookies aren't my favorite dessert (though I've never said no to eating them), but these cookies looked so tender and the maple frosting so luscious, I put them on my short list. Plus, I'd never tried an Amish sugar cookie, so I was curious to see how they differed from the kind I usually make. Man, am I ever glad this is the recipe I finally picked! These cookies are every bit as delicious as they look, and the texture is absolute perfection. They're a perfect bite of fall flavor.

Amish Maple Frosted Sugar Cookies

Prep time:30 min Bake time: 40 min

Serves 65

Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp.
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp maple extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Frosting:
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp maple extract
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar

2 - 4 Tbsp milk

Sugar sprinkles, if desired

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until combined. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and maple extract.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix. 

Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to prevent overspreading.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Drop dough by small spoonfuls onto baking sheets. A tablespoon-size cookie scoop works perfect for this.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare frosting. In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract, and 3 cups powdered sugar. Gradually add in milk and additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a consistency that is thicker than a glaze but easily spreadable. 

Frost cooled cookies, add sprinkles if desired, and allow to set.

118 calories per cookie. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Salted Caramel Apple Bars

If you read my recent post for Crunchy Peach Coffee Cake, you know I was excited to harvest fresh, delicious peaches from my peach tree for the first time a few months ago. Well, I'm happy to report that my apple tree produced a bounty of tasty Golden Delicious apples for the first time this year, too!

I'm not a fan of raw, tart apples, so of course I had to find a recipe with enough sugar to disguise the sourness. While this recipe doesn't have a ton of sugar in the bars themselves, the salted caramel sauce on top is plenty sweet enough to make these bars the most decadent apple dessert I've ever made. They were so good, I had two bars before they were even cool! 

Don't be too intimidated by the lengthy directions. These bars are fairly quick and easy to make, and totally worth the effort!

Salted Caramel Apple Bars

Prep time 30 min Bake time 45 min

Serves 12

Shortbread Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Apple Filling

3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced (1/4 inch)

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

2 Tbs granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Streusel

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar

6 Tbs salted butter, room temperature, cut up into 6 pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving some overhang on all sides. Set aside.

Make the crust: Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling and streusel.

Make the apple filling: Combine the sliced apples, flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

Make the streusel: Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350°F. Evenly layer the apples on top of the warm crust. It will look like there are too many apple slices, so layer them tightly and press them down to fit. Sprinkle the apple layer with streusel and bake for 30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator till set, about 2 hours.

Make the caramel sauce: Melt granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high-heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon until liquid. Be careful not to burn.

Once sugar is completely melted, immediately add the butter. The caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.

Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted, about 2 minutes. (If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again.)

Very slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of heavy cream while stirring. The mixture will rapidly bubble when added. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow to slightly cool down before using.

Once bars are cool and set, lift the foil or parchment out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into 12 pieces. Drizzle some salted caramel sauce on top of each. I only used about half the sauce and it was plenty.

These apple pie bars can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or even cold. Store bars and leftover caramel sauce in the fridge.