That's Good Soup!

My wife and I both really like soup, so one of the things I am trying to do is cook more soup for our meals. Soups are typically healthy and really good on cold Iowa winter nights. In the last 2 weeks, I have tried 2 different recipes, both with great results. I got both recipes from allrecipes.com and I did very little modification. However, I will share the recipes as I made them and provide links to the originals if you so desire.

Baked Potato Soup:
6 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups chicken broth
3 baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/3 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Dried Parsley to taste

Directions: In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings (or 1 tablespoon olive oil if you don't want to use bacon drippings). Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, bacon, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with cheese and parsley.

I accidentally doubled the pepper, which everybody liked. But it did add heat. Next time I make it I'm going to go with the amount of pepper called for and then add additional pepper at the table. This only made enough for 3 adults and 2 kids, so if you want leftovers, scale it up a bit. We used a sharp cheddar cheese to garnish.

Tuscan Soup:
6 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
4 potatoes, cubed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Brown Sausage. Add chopped onion and red pepper flakes, and cook until onions are tender.
2. Place meat in a large pot; add stock and potatoes. Boil until potato is cooked (20-25 mins).
Add spinach. Continue boiling until spinach is lightly cooked (5 mins).
3. Remove soup from heat, stir in evaporated milk, and season with pepper to taste.

I garnished this at the table with Parmesan cheese, which was really nice. This is better than the Zupa Tuscana soup at Olive Garden, and really simple. We had enough leftovers for 4 additional bowls...fed 2 adults and 2 kids.

I think some type of white bean in this would be really good if you feel like adding more to it. Though, with the potatoes and sausage, it was a hearty soup.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.