Co-Op Friendly Veggie-Squash Soup

This is a soup I make often in different varieties. You can’t go wrong… the ingredient sizes below are only a reference, feel free to use more or less of anything!

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (always available at the co-op!)
• 1 can beans (black, great northern, whatever you have).
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• half a cabbage, chopped
• chicken stock (4 cups) + however much water needed to cover ingredients.
• salt/pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano

Directions:

1. Brown onion in EVOO in medium-hot skillet until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic when onion is almost done and cook until fragrant.
2. Add a little more EVOO. Add chopped squash, beans, tomatoes, and cabbage. Stir, add thyme and oregano to coat everything. Let flavors mingle for about 30 seconds.
3. Add chicken stock (or water) to cover ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, turn down to low heat and simmer until squash is cooked through.
5. Serve with buttered bread or freeze to thaw for another time. Leftovers freeze well.

Crock Pot Sausage, Red Beans, and Rice

By: Grace Verage

From: Little Magnolia Kitchen

Yet another awesome find from Pinterest (where I find most of my inspiration these days). I made this a few weeks ago for the first time. The co-op has had red beans before. I had half a lb bag of red beans so I mixed red beans and some great northern beans. Turned out really delicious and it’s super duper easy! Made the whole house smell good.

Notes: I skipped the part about boiling the sausage first and I didn’t find it to be too oily.

Ingredients:

– 1 lb bag dried red beans

– 7 cups water

– 2 cans chicken broth (I didn’t use this… mostly because my crock pot was completely full with the rest of the ingredients and it was still really flavorful. But it could only make it more delicious! Just not absolutely necessary)

– 1 onion, chopped

– 3 celery stalks, chopped

– 3 garlic cloves

– Smoked sausage

– 2 tbps Creole Seasoning (I don’t have Creole Seasoning so I made my own using Emeril’s recipe here [paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ceyenne, oregano, thyme].)

– Cooked rice

Directions: 

1) Sort your beans, rinse them really well, pour into crock pot.

2) Add water (and chicken broth if using) to crock pot.

3) Add chopped vegetables.

4) Add Creole Seasoning.

5) Stir it all together.

6) Cook on HIGH for 7 hours

7) Serve over cooked rice.