In The Kitchen - #1 - Potato, Chorizo, & Rapini Soup

Welcome to the first In The Kitchen! post...

With today's busy schedules more and more of us (myself included) have made eating out and ordering in, the norm.While I'm not a chef or nutritionist, I do know practicing good self care includes fueling the body and mind with nutritious meals - and not all restaurant food is nutritious. Also eating out on a regular basis can really "eat up" your disposable income - I don't know about you but, if I can eat healthy, and still be able to save for a nice pair of heels - well you know that I'm all in!! I hope as I share my adventures of getting back into the kitchen (on a regular basis), that you too will be inspired to cook more of your meals and desserts too!!

I hope you will stop in on Wednesdays to check out what I'm sharing from my kitchen ...from recipes to tips on cooking, baking, stocking pantry, and kitchen essentials etc. Remember I'm not a chef - so I'll be sharing easy to prepare dishes on the regular - not to say I may not get adventurous and try a dish that is out of my comfort zone.

Here is our first recipe in the series ... Potato, Chorizo, & Rapini Soup:

Italian Farmer's Soup

If you stopped by HHL earlier this week, you know that winter has finally arrived in our area. So what better way to welcome the snow and cold than with a pot of Italian Farmer's Soup. This soup is super easy to make.

You'll need 500g of assorted dry legumes.

 We use Bartlolini Farmer's Soup pre-packaged legumes, but you can use any combination you have on hand.

Place the legumes in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for at least 12 hours.

After 12 hours or so drain water.

Fill a large stock pot with water and add the legumes, salt water. Bring to boil and simmer for 35 minutes.

While the legumes are cooking it's time to prep the veggies.

Celery - we use 2 stixs

Fresh Garlic - 2 cloves

Small Onion - 1 small

Baby Carrots - about two hand fulls

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh Tomatoes - 

Ground Pepper

Salt - we use sea salt

Dice the celery, garlic, onion and carrots. Place couple tablespoons of EVOO in a skillet and gently saute the veggies. Add salt, pepper to taste - 

Once the veggies are cooked (carrots may still be a little hard), with a perforated ladle, carefully scoop out the legumes and add to skillet - leaving the water in stock pot. Mix the legumes with the veggies and let stand to blend flavours. 

While the veggies and legumes are doing their thing, chop tomatoes - add to water in stock pot. Stir. Then add the legumes and veggie mixture to stock pot. Bring to boil and simmer an additional 20-25 minutes. 

Voila! Yummy Italian Farmer's Soup with crusty bread - perfect for a cold winter's day!

The great thing about making soup - is that there is always lots for the next day and even a little extra to take to a friend too!

What is your go to soup when the weather hits colder than cold outside?

Sharing this post with:   My Simple Country Life for The Country Homemaker Hop ;Katherine of Katherine’s Corner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop;  Sandy at Rose Chintze Cottage for Home Wednesdays; Kathy of A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday;Sheri at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home; Courtney of French Country Cottage for Feather Your Nest Friday; Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.