Yesterday I broke out the new slow cooker so we would have dinner (mostly) ready (mostly) when we got home from work. I made Italian sausage soup, which turned out pretty tasty.
- 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (I used mild)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 14 oz. cans of chicken broth
- 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 1 10.5 oz. (I think that’s the size I used) can of diced tomatoes
- dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
- 1/2 cup orzo pasta
- Parmesan cheese
The night before I browned the sausage in a saute pan with the onion and garlic. Then I added it to the slow cooker pot with the carrots and celery and put it in the fridge over night. In the morning, I dumped in all the canned ingredients and the dried herbs (which I sort of ground up in my palm first). Set the cooker on low for 10 hours and go about your day. After 10 hours, turn it up to high, add the orzo, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Serve and garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
Next time I make it, I think I will add more orzo, or maybe even use a slightly larger pasta. It just seemed like it was barely present in the soup. Other than that it was quite good.
Of course, soup never quite seems like a complete meal to me, so I made some bread sticks to go along with.
- 1 can refrigerated pizza dough
- pesto sauce
- Parmesan cheese
Lay out the pizza dough (which conveniently unrolls to a rectangle) and spread pesto over half of it, then sprinkle Parmesan cheese generously over the pesto.
Fold the blank half over the half with all the cheesy pesto goodness and cut into strips (I used a pizza wheel). Twist each strip and lay on a backing sheet sprayed with no-stick spray.
Bake according to pizza dough package directions, but keep an eye on it as it might cook faster since it’s not covered with pizza toppings. Voila!
Next time I do this one, I will go heavier on the cheese.
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