Thanks for the recipe, GL, it sounds delicious.

I love soups and make them often. This is one of my favorites.

SAUSAGE TORTELLINI SOUP

1 pound sweet Italian sausage meat, crumbled
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 can diced tomatoes with their juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups zucchini, sliced or diced
8 ounces tortellini pasta

Brown sausage in 5 quart soup pot. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and carrots. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.

Add tortellini and simmer for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

Fearless Em sent this to me. I believe she also posted it over at cooking. It's really good, so, if you missed it over there:

Curried Black-Eyed Peas Soup

1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
4 bacon slices
1 medium onion, chopped
2 rebs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
6 cups chicken broth
Juice of half lime
3 tbls chopped cilantro

Chop bacon and brown in heavy soup pot. Remove and drain off all but a littl of the fat. Add onions, celery, garlic and spices and saute until veggies are wilted and starting to brown. Add chicken broth, peas and carrots and simmer uncovered until peas are tender (1/2 hour to 45 minutes?)

Puree about 2 cups of trhe soup and half the bacon until smooth and add back to the pot, along with remaining bacon pieces, juice of one lime, and chopped cilantro.

My notes: As a rule, black-eyed peas do not need pre-soaking like common beans. Em says that in her experience they cook faster if presoaked.

I used a different southern pea, just because I have loads of them. Shouldn't make a significant difference in this application.

Although great the way it is, I added a pound of andulli sausage just to make it more hearty. I sliced the sausage on a diagonal and addeded at the end, then let the soup simmer until the sausage was heated through.

As long as we are sharing soup recipes, here is one we love. Woodie, I have your sausage tortellini soup on my short list!

Turkey Spaetzle Soup

Source: Betty Crocker

2T vegetable oil
I large onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
¼ c all purpose flour
2tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 c diced, cooked turkey
6 c chicken broth
1 bag (12oz) frozen spaetzle
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

In 4qt saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic, cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes
Gradually stir in flour, thyme and pepper, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in turkey and broth, heart to a boil.
Stir in spaetzle. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with parsley, serve. Yield: 6 servings (1-3/4 c each)

Per serving: 240 calories, 10g total fat, 70mg cholesterol, 17g carbohydrate,

My notes: I canÂt get frozen spaetzle so I made my own. You could also substitute egg noodles for the spaetzle.
This soup is delicious and really quick to prepare!

Linda

Here's a Paula Deen recipe that looks delish:

Potato Chowder
Cooking with Paula Deen
January/February 2007

1 lb. potatoes, cubed and divided
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup corn
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Small amount of shredded cheese
Small amount of bacon pieces

Combine half of potatoes with broth in saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes, or until tender.

Mash potatoes; stir in remaining potatoes, carrots, corn, celery, onions and seasonings. Cover, simmer until vegetables are tender.

Dissolve flour in 1/4 cup half-and-half; stir into chowder with remaining half-and-half and parsley. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until thickened slightly.

Serve topped with grated cheese and bacon bits.

Made this Hungarian soup for the first time, tonight. It sure won't be the last.

Kohlrabi Soup

1 small cut up chicken
4 young kohlrabi
1 1/4 tbls salt
2 tbls chopped parsley
4 tbls butter or lard
3 tbls flour
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cream

Cook the chicken for 30 minutew in salted water to cover.

Peel the kohlrabi and cut into fine strips. Add to the chicken with the salt and continue cooking untiol chicken and kihlrabi are tender. Wilt the parsley in the fat; add the flour and blend. Stir in a cup of the soup and continue stirring and cooking until thick and smooth. Thin with the remaining soup.

Remove the chicken from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return to the soup and heat to boiling. Mix the egg yolks with the cream, and stir into the hot soup.

Serves 8 to 12.

My notes: Used a family-sized package of 9 thighs instead of a whole chicken, which worked out perfectly.

Had six kohlrabi left from a bunch bought at the market the other day, and used them all. Didn't seem to hurt.

Was concerned that with no seasoning except the salt this would be overly bland. Bzzt! Wrong! Thanks for playing! It actually is a very tasty soup that doesn't even need pepper.

Several things to keep in mind that are not specified in the recipe:

1. Lots of fat comes off the chicken. So skim, strain, or freeze and gather it before adding the chicken back in. I also pulled the kohlrabi until the fat was removed, then returned it and the chicken to the broth.

2. If you're unfamiliar with adding eggs to soups, be sure and temper them first. Mix the eggs and cream well. While stirring add about a half cup of the soup to the egg mix. Add a second cup. Then add that mixture to the pot. Adding eggs directly to boiling liquid can result in scrambled eggs.

Looking at these soups (I LOVE soups!), but I don't know what Kholrabi or Spaetzle (2 different soups) are?
Can someone help me out? Nancy

Sure thing, Nancy.

Kohlrabi is a vegetable, related to broccoli, cabbage, and other brassicas. Its hallmark is that it produces a single, above-ground, apple-like bulb--which is the part you eat.

Kohlrabi is available in both green and purple colors, and is much more popular in Europe than here in the U.S.

Spaetzle is a small dumpling, generally popular among Germanic and Central European people. It's usually made one of two ways: You make a thin dough which gets pushed through a collander-like device, directly into boiling liquid; or you make the dough thicker, pinch off tiny pieces, and drop them into the liquid. A third method, which is very awkward, is to put the thin dough into a pastry bag, and pipe it out, cutting the dough every half inch with a knife or sissors.

Here's one spaetzle recipe:

1 large egg
1/4 tsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour

In a bowl whisk together the egg, milk, 1 tbls water, salt & pepper. Add the flour and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it is just smooth.

You can leave out the black pepper if you want.

"Grate" the dough into boiling salted water. Let cook until all the spaetzle have risen to the top.

Whoa! That should be 1/4 cup of milk. Sorry.