Soup Chick®

Turkey, kale and butternut squash soup recipe

When you make this soup, you don't need to use kale and mushrooms and butternut squash that are, well, a bit tired. All I can tell you is that I did, and what began as a fridge dump turned into a soup so good that I hurried to write the recipe because I knew I'd be making this again. My husband Ted, who has tasted more fridge dumps than any man should be asked to do, ate this two days in a row. And he had seconds. That's major. If you start with peeled and cubed butternut squash from the market, the soup comes together quickly, and that squash almost melts into the soup and gives it an irresistible sweetness.

Recipe for barley and kale soup with garlic chicken sausage and mushrooms

Sticking with my resolution to eat more dark leafy greens this year, I'm trying kale every which way, and one way I like it best is in soup, where it mellows a bit but still holds its own. This barley and kale soup actually gets most of its flavor from garlic chicken sausage; if you substitute another flavor, such as Italian chicken sausage, make sure you select a sausage that's well-seasoned, and throw a garlic clove or two into the pot (Could it hurt? No!). Don't forget the parmesan cheese rind. It makes all the difference.

Italian wedding soup recipe

Not being Italian, I never tasted Italian wedding soup until I moved to Rhode Island, the most Italian state (by percentage of population) of any in the United States. The soup is not, as many assume, named for its popularity at Italian weddings. It's a mistranslation of the Italian name, ministra maritata. Maritata means "marriage", and refers to the union of vegetables and meat in the soup. Every cook has his or her own version of wedding soup. Some variations contain pasta or egg ribbons, but I'm not Italian, so I make it without pasta, and with larger-than-traditional meatballs, the size of walnuts in the shell. You can substitute kale for escarole, and beef or pork for the ground turkey. Italian wedding soup, the ultimate comfort food, freezes well, so make a batch while you feel great, and keep some in the freezer for a day when you have the blahs.