it's a soup kind of day

It seems just last Thursday I was making a big pot of soup because it was rainy and cold and yucky and blah.


But at least I had purchased everything I needed from the store.


Today, it's sleeting. Or maybe it's freezing rain. To be honest, I'm not sure which. Anyway, it's yucky and cold and blah. Are you sensing a pattern?


Well, today I made soup again. With whatever I could find.


Heh.


I was going to make potato soup, but I usually make it with bacon and scallions and all kinds of cheesy goodness, and I didn't have any bacon. Or scallions. And the cheesy goodness is not exactly on my "diet" right now.


Here's what I did instead.


I decided to remove the casings and sautee´some turkey sausage (maybe half a pound left over from the jambalaya I made) in a tablespoon of oil in a big pot. I then added your basic mirepoix (better known as the "trinity" in LA), and while the vegetables sweated, I looked for a can of tomatoes. Nada. What I did find was a jar of spaghetti sauce. Since it was seasoned with onions and garlic, I figured I could make it work; I would just need to balance all that sweet with some heat. I emptied the jar of sauce into the pot followed by a jar of water and let the veggies continue to soften. A little Tony's, Tabasco and chili powder balanced the sweet and gave it a warm kick. I then added as many vegetables (canned and fresh) as I could find: potatoes, green beans, corn and peas, and continued to play with the seasoning, adding garlic powder, thyme, basil, salt & black pepper. I also threw in a handful of elbow macaroni. Why not? I let it simmer for a few minutes while I made grilled cheese sandwiches. The result? A big pot of yummy! I put a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of my bowl and wilted it with the soup. It was kinda like minestrone or pasta e fagioli... minus the beans only because I didn't have any. Yummy!


If you are in a pinch for something to cook and you think you have nothing to make... think again. You might be surprised.