Whatcha Eating? Wednesday

I have decided to start posting yummy recipes every Wednesday, because I like food, cooking it, eating it, and sharing it.

Today is going to be what I made for diner last night. I am sure that just about everyone has been to Olive Garden for their soup, salad, and bread sticks. That is what I wanted for dinner...but at home. My favorite from Olive Garden is that one with sausage and potato soup. So I went to my trust source... www.allrecipes.com and found...drum roll please:

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients
1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage (can use links, just tear casings off)
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced ( I used a small to medium)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 potato, thinly sliced (I used one and a half jumbo baking potatoes and it was plenty)
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used baby spinach)
 
Directions

•  Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

 

• Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

• Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Credit to: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-delicious-zuppa-toscana/detail.aspx

The verdict: Home run! Even the kids (except Sophia, but she is strange) ate it and LOVED it. I had it for leftovers today and I assumed I couldn't get Jerry to eat soup two days in a row so he got chicken nuggets. When I sat down with the soup with him, he looked at it, then down at his chicken nuggets and said, "I liked that soup, why didn't I get any?" That is a good sign! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Just add a salad and bread sticks and you're set!

Then we had Paula Dean's Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies.

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Note* I chilled it for about an hour and then used a melon baller to scoop them out. I skipped the rolling them in sugar and when they were done, I just dusted the tops with powder sugar. Yummy!

Credit to: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-gooey-butter-cookies-recipe/index.html