Sourdough Beer Bread

Don't you just love soup season? I have to admit, I try and drag it out as long as I can. And for me, soup season also means homemade bread season. But I don't always wanna be spending precious time and energy coddling dough and waiting hours for it to proof, so I have a few quick bread recipes I turn to for fresh homemade bread in a flash. This Sourdough Beer Bread is one such recipe.

This Sourdough Beer Bread is one of my favorite "go to" quick breads.

I love that this Sourdough Beer Bread is quick and easy. I also love that I can use up my sourdough starter discard - even straight from the fridge.

What's for Dinner? Sausage, Spinach, and Fennel Tortellini Soup

Whoever first thought of putting tortellini into a soup - from the bottom of my heart, thank you. What an amazing idea that was. My version started as a Costco recipe that I've tweaked over the years to fit my personal preferences. This Sausage, Spinach, and Fennel Tortellini Soup is one of my favorite soups to make (never mind that I say that about every soup I post).

Cold weather calls for a bowl of my Sausage, Spinach, and Fennel Tortellini Soup.

The soup starts with crumbled Italian sausage, browned onion and fennel for amazing flavor, a pinch of spice, and a bag of spinach stirred in at the end. Lots of recipes call for kale, but I prefer spinach. It wilts into the soup far more quickly and is actually more nutritious than kale. Surprise!

Creamy Turkey and Mushroom Soup with Mushroom Ravioli

Thanksgiving leftovers are the best! They're already comfort food. They're also absolutely fabulous thrown into soups, stews, casseroles, and pies. Most years I make a big ol' pot of turkey, or creamy turkey, noodle soup. This year I thought I'd mushroom it up a little - okay, a lot. So I made a pot of Creamy Turkey and Mushroom Soup with Mushroom Ravioli.

This soup is packed with mushroom and roasted turkey flavor. A little bit of rendered bacon, some cream, and a sprinkling of Herbes de Provence don't hurt anything either. 😉




The mushroom triple threat in this luxurious soup comes from baby portobellos cooked down with the mirepiox, a can of cream of mushroom soup stirred into the broth, and mushroom stuffed ravioli cooked in at the end. De-lish!




Start by rendering two slices of bacon.




Then, cook the mirepiox in the bacon grease.




Add in the mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid is gone. This concentrates that lovely mushroom flavor.




Turkey broth, cream of mushroom soup, roasted turkey, and seasonings get added to the pot and simmered for 15 minutes. The flavors meld together in a glorious symphony of mushroom and roasted turkey awesomeness.

After that, the ravioli gets stirred in, and then the cream. Lastly, a slurry of cornstarch and broth gets added in to thicken up the soup a bit.

I served this soup with Fluffy Sourdough Pumpkin Rolls. Recipe coming soon!

Enjoy those leftovers everyone!

Creamy Turkey & Mushroom Soup with Mushroom Ravioli

INGREDIENTS
2 strips of bacon, diced
4 cups chopped mirepiox (onions, carrots & celery)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms
2 cups roasted turkey or chicken, chopped
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
8 cups turkey or chicken broth
2 9 oz packages mushroom ravioli
1 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp corn starch

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large dutch oven or soup pot, cook bacon over medium high heat until rendered and crispy.
2. Add mirepiox and cook until veggies are starting to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Add in the mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Add in the broth, cream of mushroom soup, turkey, herbs, and 1 tsp of the salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add ravioli and cook for 4 minutes.
6. Stir in the cream.
7. Taste the soup and add up to 1/2 tsp more salt, or to taste.
8. Make a slurry by whisking together 1 Tbsp cornstarch and a little broth from the soup. Stir the slurry into the soup and bring to a boil. Then cook for 2 or 3 minutes until soup thickens a little.

What's for Dinner? Italian Lentil Stew

It's soup season. Hip, hip, hurray. I'm so happy. I love soups and stews and make them throughout the year, but especially in fall and winter. I make so much soup that my family begs me to make something different. Hee, hee!

Jump into soup season with this Italian Lentil Stew!

This Italian Lentil Stew is my mom's recipe. It's one of my favorite soups - hearty, flavorful, and pretty in the bowl. Thanks, Mom!



Loaded with Italian spices, flavorful sausage, hearty veggies, and yummy lentils, this Italian Lentil Stew is a must-make. Protein packed soup anyone? It also goes great with crusty bread and it freezes well too. That's a fantastic soup in my book. Oh, and did I mention that it's totally easy to make.



First, brown your sausage.



Next, add in all the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. The stew cooks for 45 to 50 minutes or until the veggies are tender and the lentils are soft. So easy!



This recipe makes a nice big batch of stew. I like to freeze half of it so as not to soup out the fam. Everything in moderation - except for cupcakes. 😉

Hearty and flavorful Italian Lentil Stew is the perfect way to kick off soup season!

Italian Lentil Stew

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
2 cups lentils
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 cups diced mirepoix (celery, carrot, onions)
2 cups diced red potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp salt
8 cups chicken broth

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat.
2. Brown sausage and drain off any excess fat.
3. Add in all of the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Taste stew to make sure lentils are cooked and veggies are tender. If stew is too thick, add a little more broth or water to get the consistency you like.