Recipes
Sausage & Potato Soup
by Glory Fink
1lb Ground Sausage – Deer, Pork, Chicken, Elk, whatever you have on hand
1lb Red Potatoes, chopped
1lb Russet Potatoes, chopped
1 Yellow Onion, Chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1qt Chicken Stock/broth
1oz Heavy Cream
1-2 Bay leaf
1-2T Parsley, dried
1-2 t Garlic powder
A few dashes of Vinegar pepper sauce, lemon juice or orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Over medium heat, cook the sausage while breaking it up into little bits. Drain the sausage and rinse it with hot water if you want to reduce the fat even more.
Add the sausage back to the pot; turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the chopped onions, bay leaf, parsley, garlic powder, pepper and the celery. Stir and cover for a minute or two.
Uncover, stir and then add the chopped potatoes, recover and leave it alone for 3-5 minutes.
Uncover and stir making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom or burning. Add just enough chicken stock to barely cover the sausage/potato mixture. Turn heat down to medium, re-cover and leave for approx 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes uncover and stir. Add the heavy cream. Yes, heavy cream. It’s two tablespoons, for heaven’s sake! Trust me, milk is not a good substitute, it could curdle in the heat (yuk!)
Taste the soup…carefully. It probably tastes a little dull. This is where you add a few dashes of pepper sauce or lemon juice. Use the orange juice instead if you want it a little sweeter. Now taste, again. Does it need more salt and pepper? More garlic or parsley? Now stir and let simmer for a minute.
Taste again. Better? Good enough to eat? Ok, turn off the heat and give it 5-10 minutes to cool while you reload the washing machine or return a phone call.
Garnish with shredded cheese, bacon bits, Sour cream and chives or parsley. Accompany with buttermilk cornbread or toasted homemade bread and a yummy green salad (maybe with a little ranch dressing.)
Serves 8 or 3 teenage boys
P.S. If you have unexpected company arrive just add more chicken stock and a few tablespoons of dried mashed potatoes to stretch it. I hope you have enough cornbread and salad for you guests. Remind them to call ahead or next time they’ll be eating peanut butter sandwiches!
