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Everyone has that one show that they just can’t live without right? Well, I have one channel I can’t live without. Yep, there’s one whole channel I can’t live without and I watch every single show they offer me. What is it you ask? Bravo. There is no shame in my voice when I say that I live and breathe Bravo. You name a show I love it, Real Housewives (any season will do), Top Chef, Flipping Out, all epic. My ideal night is snuggling up in my comfy bed and flipping on whatever Bravo’s got to offer me.
Tonight, I had the pleasure of watching the season finale of Real Housewives of New York, and boy was it a doozy. These ladies are absolutely insane…and I totally love it. Does anyone else think Aviva is excessively a little narcissistic or is that just me?
Anyways, my absolute favorite of the Bravo shows is a little program called Watch What Happens. It’s basically the after show to talk about what we just watched and stir up even more drama. Awesome, right? Andy Cohen, the host always starts out the show with the three things that he’s currently obsessed with, so that got me thinking about what three things I’m currently obsessed with… Drum roll please…..
Couches-this may seem like a weird thing to be obsessed with but hear me out. We ordered couches from a store I will not name (cough) (Nebraska Furniture Mart) over a month ago. They had been delayed twice and weren’t supposed to arrive until next week. Shockingly, we were surprised with the gift of couches a week early this past weekend and I’ve very much enjoyed lounging on them.
Riding Boots-Even though I hate cold weather, I love wearing comfy boots to keep me warm, and let’s be serious they’ve got to be cute on top of that. I just got a new pair for my birthday and I wear them any chance I get.
The last thing I’m obsessed at the moment are good-for-the-soul soups. Right now I’m into light brothy soups since we aren’t in the height of winter yet but are slowly easing out of the warm weather, sending my body into chills. There’s nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of soup on a chilly fall day, except for maybe a campfire and s’mores but I’ve got to work with what I’ve got.
This particular soup has all the things I’m looking for in a soup. A sort of twist on a traditional chicken noodle soup, this is just a bit heartier with the addition of sweet potato and turkey Italian sausage but it’s still light enough to not weigh me down. Throw in some spinach and tortellini and you’ve got a complete meal that’s pretty healthy too.
The turkey Italian sausage I use has tons of fennel seed which I love in this soup, so if yours doesn’t have any just add a teaspoon or so when browning the sausage.
Be sure to use low sodium chicken stock, you want to be able to control the salt content otherwise you could have a soup that tastes like salt water. Yuck.
I love adding Parmesan Cheese rinds into soups and stews; it gives it a salty nutty bite that you can’t get from any other ingredient. Never throw away those rinds!
- 3 links turkey Italian sausage with fennel (about ½ lb), casings removed
- (1 teaspoon fennel seed if there is no fennel in the sausage)
- ¼ medium onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 2 ½ cups sweet potato cubed
- 32 ounces low sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind
- 2 ½ cups cheese tortellini (1 package Buitoni or similar brand)
- 2 cups spinach
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- *It’s important to use low sodium chicken stock so you can control the salt content. If you do happen to have regular chicken stock or broth on hand omit salt.
- Brown sausage over a medium high heat with a little olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. If your sausage doesn’t have fennel seed in it, add 1 teaspoon fennel seed to sausage. Turn heat down to medium and add onion, garlic, and cubed sweet potato. Cook about five minutes. Pour in chicken stock and water, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover. Cook for about 20 minutes or until sweet potato has softened. Add tortellini and simmer for another five minutes until tortellini is cooked through. Add spinach. Stir until spinach has wilted into the broth. Remove parmesan cheese rind. Season with salt and pepper.
michele says
perfect fall soup!!!