This is one of those delicious easy to make super comforting soups. Of course I may have lost some of you with the Cabbage and if you hate it you hate it but if you’re willing to give it a shot this is a super cozy kind of soup which we can all use a little bit of these days. Made this for Joel and I and had 2 quarts left over for 2 more meals. Perfect dinner served with a nice green salad . I used pork sausage because that’s what I had in the house feel free to use chicken or turkey sausage whatever works best for you. I used a spicy italian pork sausage . I also used a frilly-edged Napa Cabbage . This cabbage is nice and soft and breaks down quickly . If using regular green cabbage you’ll have to cook a bit longer — probably another 15 minutes or so. Of course you can be flexible with your pasta , I used orzo but you can use any small pasta such as ditalini, mini elbows or mini farfalla .

Enjoy this most satisfying soup which is just perfect on a cold wintery day or night.

Stay safe folks.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 pound Italian sausage, mild or spicy remove casings

2 cloves garlic minced

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, start with a pinch , plus add more to taste

1/4 cup Tomato Paste

1 large Napa or Savoy Cabbage, trimmed , quartered and thinly sliced

4 cups Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

1 cup Orzo

1 -2 Parmesan Rinds

*grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed Dutch oven type of pot.( Le Creuset works well here) over medium heat.

Add sausage in a single layer and break up into smaller pieces, stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.

Add the chopped onion and several big pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Saute the onions for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for a few minutes. Lower the heat and add the tomato paste and continue to cook stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot. Onions will start to caramelize in about 3 minutes.

Add the cabbage, chicken stock, water, orzo , Parmesan Rinds, and add another big pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. Continue stirring so pasta doesn’t stick to bottom of pan. Add sausage and continue to simmer for about 15 more minutes or until pasta and cabbage are tender.

Remove an discard rinds. I couldn’t find one of my rinds and it is no big deal. If you use larger ones they’re easier to find. You may find when you spoon out the soup!

Taste for Salt and Pepper

I then turned off heat and let soup sit on the stove till we were ready to eat dinner. I brought to a low simmer and served in bowls with grated Parmesan.

If you do freeze you’ll probably need to add some water/stock to it because it will thicken up considerably.

Here’s the thing– I love Stuffed Peppers but it’s a lot of work to make. This soup satisfied my yen for Stuffed Peppers without all the work. It’s really delicious and this is how I made it. I actually used a whole package of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice which worked perfectly. I also used ground beef but obviously you can use ground turkey or chicken as well. I just wanted to stay as true to the recipe for Stuffed Peppers as possible. Of course you don’t need to sprinkle the cheese on top but it added another layer of flavor .

Enjoy this hearty and easy meal in a bowl.

Paired with a green salad and some nice crusty bread it’s perfect.

*probably 6 -8 servings and you can freeze leftover soup.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 medium green bell peppers, diced. Mine were giant so I used 3

1 medium yellow onion, diced

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper or use coarsely ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cups Beef Broth

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 package Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice you obviously don’t have to use ready rice but I did and I used Jasmine. Any Rice will do and if you don’t want 2 cups use 1 cup rice– you’ll want the rice cooked so if you have leftover rice use it!

Shredded Chedder for topping and serving

Directions:

In a large soup pot ( think Le Creuset) a heavy stock pot which will be large enough for this soup. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the diced peppers, onion, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper ( app. 1/4 teaspoon) you’ll get another chance at seasoning so just start out small. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Approximately 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef and cook breaking up the beef as you stir with a large wooden spoon. Cook till no longer pink , approximately 5 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and oregano and cook for a minute or two. Add the 4 cups beef broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce, and add a little more kosher salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil . Reduce heat and simmer until all flavors are blended. I like my soup to simmer for a long time. At least a half hour and preferably longer. If you find it too thick add a little water. Mine was perfect and sat on stovetop for a few hours. Second hour just sat on warm.

Before serving I heated to a boil, brought back down to a simmer and added rice until warmed through. Taste for S and P but should be fine.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with some Chedder .

I held my breath because I wasn’t sure about Joel’s response to soup but he totally enjoyed and ate a big bowl.

It’s Fall and this is the most perfect dessert . Baked with brown sugar and oat topping served warm with vanilla ice cream and it’s perfection on a plate. This is what I did and it really is pretty easy and not very technical for those of you who want to bake a great dessert but don’t want to fuss with cakes and frosting etc. and special equipment. Most perfect!!! Can be made ahead of time and even frozen .

Ingredients:

Fruit Mixture:

3 ripe firm pears peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3/4 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

*Vanilla ice cream for serving — obviously optional but in our house it’s a must

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I spray a 9 – 10 inch deep dish pyrex type of dish or any baking dish you like — set aside

In a large bowl combine pears, apples, orange juice, sugar , flour , cinnamon and vanilla — All the fruit mixture ingredients

Dump all the ingredients into your prepared baking dish.

Make the topping in a separate bowl . Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add in the melted butter and stir until combined, using your clean fingers crumble the mixture over the fruit. You’ll want to press some of it together to form clumps.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until topping is golden brown, and fruit is tender and it is bubbling all around the edges.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*I put into oven when we sat down to dinner and let it cook so it was ready for dessert. Let it sit for awhile to set.

You can also make ahead and then just re-heat for 45 minutes to an hour . I cover with aluminum when re-heating.

Enjoy!!