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Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Pumpkin Sausage Soup

I know we are rushing fall, but our temps have been so horrid lately that this cool down, even if it is temporary, feels so good and makes me want fall things. Like soup, who doesn't like a nice soup during fall or the winter.

Truthfully I could eat soup year round, but TheHub has a different stance about when soup should legally be consumed. Our highs today were in the upper 60's. Yes I know to some of you that does not feel cool, but it was cool enough to get the go ahead from the soup police. We had a big meal for the day at lunch. We went to the Brazilian festival and brought back so many delicious foods; black beans, pork and rice,  steak kabobs, tamales, empanadas, and 3 different types of desserts for a shared meal with Son2 and DIL2. It was a football day and what is more perfect than eating and talking about football (Except that the Georgia/South Carolina game went into overtime which put us eating right as the Alabama game started.)

I had made taco soup  on Friday for TheHub's post game meal, and figured I would just scour the fridge for leftovers for me. At halftime I was on the computer looking for some kind of easy keto dessert, when I found a recipe for pumpkin doughnuts using the pumpkin spice extract that came in the box with  my cornbread extract. It called for some pumpkin puree and I thought I might as well find some way to use the rest of the can. I remembered a recipe for sweet potato soup I have made before, so I thought I could use pumpkin instead and hope for the best.

1 small onion, diced
1/2 small red pepper, diced
1 cup cooked crumbled sausage*
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional of course)
1/8 teaspoon coriander
salt and pepper to taste (I used none since the broth was salted and I am just not crazy about salt)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Wilt the onion and pepper in the bottom of a small soup pot. Add the cooked sausage and cook until the veggies are soft. Toss in the broth and pumpkin and stir until it is all combined. Add the seasonings and cook on low about 15 minutes (Add more broth or water if the liquid starts to reduce) About 2 minutes before serving add the heavy cream, stir through and bring to whatever soup temp you like. (It really did not lower the temperature much at all. I let it heat on low about a minute and a half, stirring the whole time)

This is a pretty unattractive soup so I would suggest sprinkling some minced red pepper and some chopped fresh parsley on top for a little color. Since it was just for me, I did not do that, but I will for the picture. When I tell you even though it is not a pretty food but the flavor makes up for it, I feel like the coed describing her not so pretty roommate to a potential blind date, "She's got a great personality and all the girls love her"

Trust me, the flavor did make up for the less than stellar appearance of the soup. I am not crazy bout the taste of pumpkin, but with this soup, I never felt I was eating eating pumpkin. The broth was a lovely blend of spices and none of them competed with the others. It was just a nice blend in a creamy base, with chunks of sausage, and bits of vegetables.

Fortunately I have enough left over for a meal during the week. It is supposed to be cool and rainy on Tuesday, so I think this might be a great meal for that night. Maybe with a piece of the mock cornbread and a salad!

*I always have 1 cup packs of sausage frozen. Sprouts has a couple of packages of their butcher made links reduced nearly every time I go shopping. They are at their last sell by date so I always buy them, bring the home and cook and freeze them. Usually it winds up in a pan full of cabbage for a super quick meal so I am not picky about labeling what type of sausage it is and I rarely know exactly what kind I am using. Judging by the taste this might have been polish flavored sausage.  I think just about anything other than Italian sausage would work very well with the flavors in this soup.

26 comments:

  1. I never met a pumpkin I didn't like (though I am yet to eat pumpkin pie).
    I hope your soup was delicious. And am sure it was.

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    1. The soup was very good and would probably be very good sans sausage. I am more interested in trying the pumpkin "doughnuts". I opened the can of pumpkin because of the stupid doughnut recipe and have not even seriously begun to think of making them, but I need to since the leftover pumpkin is sitting in an empty sour cream container in the fridge taunting me.

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  2. Now that you've mentioned pumpkin puree, I believe I have 2 cans of the stuff in the pantry! Maybe I'll try making some of your soup!

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    1. I think I have another can in the back of the pantry. I will probably make this several more times this fall/winter. I think I counted at least 10 cups of frozen sausage when I was rearranging the contents today, so I can make quite a bit.

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  3. Ive already made soup 3 times in the last month. Chicken noodle, lentil and split pea. Just love it, and living on my own I dont have the soup police to beware of. I will definitely try that, although I dont think we can get pumpkin puree here. Will have to make some of my own. (Sorry about the punctuation, or the lack of it, but my keyboard isnt cooperating).

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    1. I live with a food legalist. There are appropriate time for just about every single type of food!

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  4. I'm with you. Soup is for all-year-round. But I think that Hubs is in the majority.

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    1. There is a little restaurant near us and occasionally I meet TheHub there for lunch. They have a delicious Greek lemon chicken soup and I get it just about every single time. If it is between March and mid October he always complains that I am eating soup and it is not soup weather.

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  5. The soup police. Ha Ha Ha! We love soup here and I love that it has FINALLY cooled down enough to enjoy some. I told my daughter yesterday that we need to have potato soup this week. She agreed with me too. :)

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    1. I made fake potato soup yesterday. If TheHub has a dinner meeting (more probable than possible) I will be eating it tonight.

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  6. It's soup season year 'round here in the Great PNW. Personally, I don't care for many soups at all, but my DH is like you--he could eat soup every day of the year. My eldest has been clamoring for apple-cabbage soup, and as I have about a dozen apple trees filled with ugly but delicious apples, I think I need to humor him. I have yet to try making a pumpkin soup, but I've had a request for pumpkin doughnuts, so I may plan both on the same day. Thank you for the recipe.

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    1. I have never had cabbage apple soup before. Is it a sweet or savory soup? I would like to know how to make it.

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    2. It's sweet and sour. This is the recipe I modified. I put the bacon the in the soup, and use the oil from the bacon instead of olive oil, use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, and leave out the sugar. I also use cider made from apples from our trees, so mine may have a stronger/sharper taste than if you used commercial apple juice. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/230232/cabbage-apple-soup/

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    3. Oh, and I have never added the bread. I only add bread/croutons in baked onion soup or to hold together a gazpacho.

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  7. I really like the sausage/pumpkin combo. And, like you, I can eat soup 52 weeks of the year. This is definitely the sort of recipe I enjoy making -- thanks.

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    1. I think soup is just good for the soul, but what do I know!

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  8. I make butternut squash soup, but haven't made pumpkin soup yet. Yours sounds delicious.

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    1. In Australia, butternut squash is called butternut pumpkin. So you have made pumpkin soup!

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    2. I have made butternut squash soup and it is very similar to the taste of the pumpkin, so now I know I had made pumpkin soup before!

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  9. It doesn't look bad at all, even without the garnish. I'd like to try some and oh how I wish we could buy pureed pumpkin here. What an effort saver it would be

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    1. I thought the garnish really did help the presentation. I had it for dinner last night and though it tasted the same it was visually more appealing.

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  10. I've never cooked meals with pumpkin-have eaten and enjoyed many. This one is on m list to try.

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