Eagles Green: Kale, sausage and chickpea soup

Note: Due to a spammer, comments have been turned off for this post, and will be moderated from now on. Sorry!


A hearty winter soup, with lots of healthy leafy greens - and in keeping with our green theme here in Philadelphia!


Start by chopping and sauteeing two large onions, then cooking in a bit of bacon grease or olive oil until translucent:





Dump them into the crockpot.



Peel and chop a one pound carrot:









Oh - you don't have a giant carrot? Then just use a few smaller ones. Add them to the crockpot too.



Brown about two pounds of italian sausage, casings removed. (Hot or sweet? depends - do you like bites of spicy heat in your soup?)

Open and drain two cans of chick peas. Throw them in too. This is the ultra fancy Walmart store brand. We're high fallutin that way.

Wash and rip up a whole bunch of kale. (I would say 8-10 cups of raw leaves) I seasoned with just a touch of salt while cooking. Sautee briefly in a pan, in oil or bacon grease, before adding to crockpot.

To this add 8 -10 cups of liquid - either chicken broth, stock, vegetable broth or just water with concentrated chicken bullion. If you heat the liquid in the microwave first it will save a good bit of time before the soup simmers in the crockpot.

Cook for at least three hours to allow the kale to fully soften and all the flavors to merge. Serve with bread and butter, or popcorn, or crackers, or just a spoon!

Party Appetizer or Yummy Brunch: Sausage Balls

Mix together: 1 pound bulk HOT sausage:


2 cups Bisquick:



12 oz shredded cheddar cheese:



Mix together well. You probably have to use your hands. Even my stand mixer won't do this job.


Roll into 1" balls. You can now store these in the fridge for later baking if you like. (you can also freeze for a few weeks - just thaw before baking)

Preheat oven to 375. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

A perfect appetizer or brunch entree. A Christmas morning tradition for us.

ratio: 1 pound bulk hot sausage to 12 oz shredded extra sharp cheddar to 2 cups Bisquick.

Apple Sausage and Cheddar Quiche

I started putting apple in quiche about three years ago, and LOVED the way it turned out, so have been doing it ever since. Apples are complimented especially well with sausage and some variety of cheddar cheese.

For two 9" quiche (the clear glass pie dishes are best for this):

2 handrolled, from Grammy's old family recipe, pie crusts (wink, wink):

5 apples (I prefer to use multiple varieties), peeled and chunked:

1 pound of sausage, browned and then sliced. (this was an apple chicken sausage from Trader Joes):

Put the apples and sausage in the pie crusts:

Top with about 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can mix in asiago, dubliner, fontina, gouda, etc from the bits in your cheese drawer:

Crack 8 jumbo or 10 large eggs, mix with cracked black pepper, nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, a sprinkling of parsley and a dash of garlic powder, and a cup and a quarter of whole milk plus a big spoonful of sour cream (many quiche recipes call for half and half or heavy cream but I rarely have those in my fridge):

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Let it cool for at least twenty minutes before serving:

Sausage & Zucchini Casserole with Garlic Bread

I'm still trying to find all my kitchen tools after moving, so the leftovers are long ago consumed for each recipe this week, but hopefully still useful!

Note: the pictures are from a double batch of this recipe.

1 - 1.5 pounds italian sausage (I used hot - it made for a zippy final product)

4 or 5 zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut into bite size chunks

1 large onion, diced

16 oz ricotta cheese

2 small cans tomato sauce

1 15 oz can diced tomato, drained

basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley (dried or fresh)

garlic powder




Brown the italian sausage in a large pan. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon into a bowl, and discard the liquid from the pan.























Add a few tablespoons of oil to the pan, and add the onion. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Add squash, and continue to cook. Salt and pepper to taste.














If using fresh herbs, wash them, remove the leaves from the stems, and roughly chop them. Stir into sausage along with tomato sauce and drained diced tomatoes. Stir in cooked onion and squash mixture.





















Layer in casserole dish with dollops of ricotta cheese, and top with a sprinkling of romano or parmesan. Bake at 400, just until the cheese on top begins to melt. Remember, everything is already cooked. If you're in a hurry, skip the baking and just scoop the mixture right into a bowl. Serve with garlic bread, if desired.























Garlic Bread:
1/2 loaf french bread (day old will be fine)
1/2 stick butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped (or 3 of my beloved frozen garlic cubes)
a bit of dried basil or parsley, for color
a teaspoon or two of romano or parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in the microwave. (the defrost button works best for me). Mix in the garlic, green spice and cheese. Brush onto opened halves of the french bread. Place in oven under broiler - about five minutes but keep an eye on it!

Hearty Breakfast Burritos

I made breakfast burritos for the first time last weekend. I believe I can honestly say it was the first time I was trying to recreate a fast food dish - McDonald's breakfast burritos. (or at least something similar.

First, brown one roll of hot sausage:



Shred, grate or dice an onion and some potatoes, and start them cooking in a separate pan. Season with salt and pepper. Chop a pepper and add to the mix:

Break and mix some eggs. I think I used 8 jumbo, but this ended up being a huge batch.

I used my Tupperware quick shake to mix the eggs. A bowl and fork would also suffice.

Combine sausage with potato mixture (my sausage did not give off much fat, but if it did make sure to drain and discard the grease) . Add the egg mixture, and "scramble" until eggs are cooked.

I had guacamole in my freezer, so I spread some on tortillas:

Then fill with mixture and roll up. Serve with your favorite salsa: