Friday, October 31, 2014

Spicy Pumpkin Sausage Soup - Updated Version


Happy Halloween! I'm typing this post as I answer the door for trick or treaters. I especially love seeing the little ones. 

It's so chilly here this evening. It's currently 55 degrees, but started off at only 34 degrees this morning. Tonight is supposed to get down to only 30 degrees so I harvested my last 2 ichiban eggplants growing out back so they wouldn't freeze. Our high temp for Saturday is 52 degrees which is a drastic drop from the 70-80s we've had the last couple of weeks. I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of November. I took off from work a little early this afternoon so I could get dinner made and get ready for the trick or treaters. I made my Spicy Pumpkin Sausage Soup, but updated the recipe a bit. Rather than add sliced cooked sausage links to it, I browned bulk chicken-apple sausage (from Sprouts) and increased the chicken broth and heavy cream. I made a few other minor tweaks and it was the best ever. While some may wince a bit at the thought of pumpkin in their soup...if you think of it as a squash, it isn't sweet unless you add sweetener to it. The soup is so very simple and is ready in less than 30 minutes. The blend of flavors from the chicken apple sausage, chipotle and pumpkin went so well together and had all the flavors of fall. You can use your favorite sausage and you can choose to make it spicy or not spicy to suit your own taste. This soup is thick, creamy and rich; just like a bisque type soup, only with sausage in it. I snapped a couple photos for you to see below as well as my updated recipe. Enjoy!




Spicy Pumpkin Sausage Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 pound bulk ground sausage (I used ground chicken apple sausage)
3 cups chicken stock
1 15-ounce can 100% pure pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Dash ground cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons heavy cream (plus extra to drizzle on top when serving)

Directions:

In a 3 to 4 quart pot, brown sausage over medium heat, breaking it up as it browns. Add chicken stock, pumpkin, salt, onion powder, cinnamon, and chipotle and stir until combined. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, about 10 minutes. Add cream and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Serve in bowls and garnish with a drizzle of cream on top, if desired.

*Note: If bulk sausage not available, remove sausage from casings to brown.

      

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