Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup #SundaySupper

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Cindy Kerschner

Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup chases away winter chills. A hearty soup that stands up to freezing and reheating.

Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup

It’s late. No time for me to shop for dinner.
Wait! I can pull something out of the freezer. Something easy to defrost, wholesome and inexpensive.

Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup
Did I mention it was also homemade?
Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup

This week Sunday Supper is hitting the deep freeze. By that I mean we’re making freezer meals!

Healthy Make Ahead Freezer Meals

New Years usually means resolutions to eat healthier. Which can sometimes be difficult with crazy busy schedules. Share your healthy make ahead freezer meals to get us all through the busy winter without ordering take out.

Soup tops my must make meals in winter. It’s so easy to make a big batch and freeze some for later.
Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup cooks in one pot. It easily reheats on the stove-top or microwaved.
I like using chicken sausage in soups and casseroles. It’s leaner and holds it shape when separated from the casing.
Today you can find chicken sausage in all kinds of flavors. Apple and maple, hickory, feta and spinach and my favorite, sweet Italian. Some brands even add peppers and onions. YUM!
Start with quality chicken stock. Add mirepoix and greens for some veggies. A few springs of fresh thyme and some lemon juice. That little bit of acid from the lemon makes a big difference.
I also like to cook the rice in with the soup. To me it absorbs all the flavors better that way.
How do you cook rice for soup?
Here’s the recipe. Don’t forget to freeze some for later!

Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup

Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup

Print
Chicken Sausage and Rice Soup

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Serving Size: 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken sausage (plain or Italian) casing removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 64 ounces chicken stock
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup sliced celery
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 2 cups chopped kale
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 1/2 cups rice

Instructions

  • Break sausage into bite-sized pieces. Place pieces and oil in a large skillet. Brown on all sides.
  • Reduce heat and add stock, carrots, celery, onion, kale and thyme. Bring to a boil.
  • Add rice. Reduce heat and simmer until rice and sausage are thoroughly cooked.
  • Remove thyme sprigs and add lemon
  • Cool completely before freezing.
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Healthy Make Ahead Freezer Meals from Sunday Supper

Frozen Fruits and Veggies

Preparing Some Protein

The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.

Posted in #SundaySupper, chicken, healthy, rice, sausage, soup, What's For Dinner? | 23 Comments

Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail #CocktailParty

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Cindy Kerschner

Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail bubbly, sweet with a ginger kick! Perfect for any occasion.
Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail
Welcome to our #CocktailParty !
New Year’s eve is just around the corner. Looking for something different to serve or just enjoy? We have some great ideas for you! From cider drinks to sangria. It’s here!

My contribution is with champagne. A little bubbly goes a long way.
Champagne toasts are on most people’s list. When the clock hits 12:00 be prepared!

The drink itself doesn’t need to be boring. You can spice it up with homemade strawberry syrup and a bit of fresh ginger.

Here’s a quick video to entice you! 🙂

Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail starts with a simple syrup. I use fresh strawberries, grated ginger, sugar and water. Simple right?
Add a fresh strawberry garnish. Easy. You’ll have a tasty drink you’re guests will love.

I use fresh from Florida Florida Strawberries for best results!

Here’s a great time-saver. You can set up the glasses with chilled syrup ahead of time. Add the champagne at toast time!

strawberry ginger syrup

Make it a mocktail. Use ginger ale instead for the kids and those avoiding alcohol.

Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail glasses

Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail

 

Print
Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail

Yield: 2 servings

Serving Size: 1 each

Ingredients

  • 1 11-ounce bottle champagne
  • 2 strawberries for garnish
    • syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries (I use Florida Strawberries)
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Instructions

  • Place water, strawberries, sugar and ginger in a 1-quart saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
  • Cook until strawberries soften and syrup thickens. Strain and cool.
  • Fill flutes halfway with cooled syrup.
  • Top with champagne and garnish with fresh strawberries.
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Strawberry Ginger Champagne Cocktail

Food for Thought… Do you use fresh fruit in your cocktail creations? Do you make your own syrups? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!

Enjoy these tasty cocktail ideas from our #CocktailParty bloggers!

 

Posted in #CocktailParty, cocktails, strawberry, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Honey Shrimp Puffs #SundaySupper

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Cindy Kerschner

Honey Shrimp Puffs brighten your New Year Eve Parties and get-togethers. Easy bite-sized shrimp and spinach stuffed puff pastry. Sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Honey Shrimp Puffs

This week’s Sunday Supper Event:

Celebrating New Year’s Eve is a blast, and there really isn’t any better way to celebrate than with food and drinks. For this Sunday Supper, bring your best New Year’s Eve Menu Ideas to the table. Let us know what you’re planning!

I love small plate and appetizer parties! I like the idea of sampling a little of this now and maybe some of that later.
Hot hors d’oeuvres can be a challenge. All cold offerings can be boring.
That’s when puff pastry becomes the hero!
You can cut and shape it. Stuff it like in savory Spanakopita, layer it like in a sweet Baklava.
I chose to cut puff pastry into rounds and bake. I gently press well in the top of slightly cooled bake round and fill.
Just about anything will work if you serve them close to when they were made.
For New Year’s Eve I want to be a little fancy! 😉
Honey Shrimp Puff

Honey Shrimp Puffs
Forgive me for not having elaborate photos on this one. I was hungry and just did close ups! Ha!
I guess that means these Honey Shrimp Puffs turned out pretty darn good! Why yes, yes they did!
I used a cap from a spice bottle to make small circles from the puff pastry sheet. These worked out as a perfect sized bite.
Enjoy!

Honey Shrimp Puffs

Honey Shrimp Puffs

Print
Honey Shrimp Puffs

Yield: 12 appetizers

Serving Size: 1 each

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
  • 1/2 pound shrimp
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup spinach, chiffonade cut
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • hot sauce optional

Instructions

  • Cut puff pastry into 12 1-inch rounds. Bake according to package directions. (about 10 minutes at 425 then reduce temp to 375 and bake a few minutes until dry and golden brown.
  • Cool slightly then gently press in a well on top.
  • Saute shrimp in oils. Remove cooked shrimp cut into small pieces. Return to pan, add spinach, salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
  • Fill pastries. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  • add a drop of hot sauce if desired.
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Sunday Supper New Year’s Eve Menu Ideas

End of the Year Appetizers & Mains

Happy New Year Hors d’Oeuvres

The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.

Posted in #SundaySupper, appetizer, shrimp | 16 Comments

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes #TheRecipeReDux

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Cindy Kerschner

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes give a new dimension to breakfast. Full bodied, yet light buttermilk pancakes with the goodness of oats.

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

Welcome to another Recipe ReDux Challenge!
December 2017 – Theme
Grab a Book and Cook

We’re playing a little party game at the end of 2017: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 201, 17, 217 – or any combination of the number ‘2017.’ (Of course, please don’t forget to credit the original recipe and change enough of the recipe to make it your very own.)

I searched through numerous cookbooks and page combinations to find a perfect fit for the theme. I hit the nail on the head with a recipe from the Breakfast Queen herself, Ina Pinkney.
I met Ina at a recent Food Wine Conference where she was promoting her latest book, Ina’s Kitchen, Memories and Recipes from the Breakfast Queen.
On page 170 I found a recipe for whole wheat oatmeal pancakes which I adapted.
Cut Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

I’m a big lover of pancakes and waffles. I just don’t indulge very often or I’d need a new fat pants wardrobe.
I like the added nutrition oatmeal brings to the table. Strawberries are no slouch at being good for you food either. Together they make a winning combo.
Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes
Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

Print
Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

Yield: 12

Serving Size: 2 each

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup rolloed oats (not instant)
  • 2 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup half and half
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups fresh strawberry slices, (I use Florida Strawberries)

Instructions

  • Combine oats, buttermilk and half and half. Refrigerate overnight.
  • Next day, combine egg, oil, vanilla and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
  • Whisk together egg mixture and oats mixture. Add flour mix.
  • Cook on an oiled, preheated griddle or fry pan. Drop mixture by 1/4 cup/4-inch pancake.
  • Add strawberries and cook until bubbles appear then flip. Continue to cook until golden brown and no batter appears.
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Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes
More about the Recipe ReDux.

recipe redux

As the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians, The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you. Dietitians Regan Jones (of ReganMillerJones, Inc.), Serena Ball and Deanna Segrave-Daly (both of Teaspoon Communications) founded the group on the belief that healthier eating should always taste delicious. As the Latin term “redux” means to revisit or reinvent, we are reinventing the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach. We aim to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover.

Enjoy these recipes from our favorite cookbook pages with 2-0-1-7 via The Recipe ReDux!

recipe-redux-linky-logo

Posted in #TheRecipeReDux, healthy, oats, pancakes, strawberry, What's For Dinner? | 6 Comments