Sausage & Vegetable Stew

This is hands down my favorite soup (at least right now). Last time I made it we didn't have any leftovers and it was so sad. I even posted my lament on facebook.

Click here for the printable version.

 You'll need: 3TBSP extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, parsley, 2 tsp minced garlic, 8 baby red potatoes, 2 parsnips, 4 medium carrots, 1 large red onion, 1 lb kielbasa, 2 TBSP paprika, and 3 T flour. (not pictured 4 C water and sour cream for garnish)

 Dice the onion.

 Heat oil, onion, and garlic in a heavy pot over medium heat until softened. This will take about 5 minutes.

 Stir in the paprika and 1 tsp salt. Then stir in the flour,

 and immediately stir in the water until there are no flour lumps.

 Chop up the carrots and parsnip to bite size pieces,

 quarter the potatoes,

 and slice the kielbasa.

 Add the carrots, parsnip, potatoes, and sausage to the pot. Add some salt, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil.

 Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

 Uncover the soup and stir in the vinegar. This just helps to brighten the flavor, so if you don't have any, it's not completely required.

Serve garnished with sour cream and parsley and some crusty bread on the side (a baguette works well) Then enjoy every last bite!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

What's your favorite soup?

Cheesy Kielbasa, Zucchini, and Pasta Bake

This recipe is one of my favorites. I used to make it the complicated way of boiling the noodles first, but after rediscovering the beauty of no-boil pasta bakes, I revamped the recipe to make it that much easier. It's fairly forgiving and easily adjusted, so don't feel like you have to be exact with much of anything.

 For this recipe, you'll need:

1 jar pasta sauce with garlic, 1/2 bag/box big pasta, 1 C shredded Italian blend cheese (basic mozzarella is fine), 1 zucchini, 1/2 lb kielbasa, 1 carrot, 1 egg (optional), and 8-16 oz ricotta cheese.
 

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Spread an even layer of sauce (no more than 1/2 jar) on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. I prefer to use glass.
Layer pasta on top of sauce.
Slice and quarter zucchini, kielbasa, and carrot and layer them on top.

Mix egg into ricotta cheese and add dollops on top.
Pour remaining sauce over everything. Fill empty jar 1/3 way full with water and add that on top of sauce.
Use a spoon to slightly mix everything around without separating all of the ricotta.
Cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes or until noodles are cooked.
Remove foil and add shredded cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes longer.

If it still appears watery, allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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Have you tried a no-boil pasta bake before?