Tasty Tuesday - Mixed Vegetable and Sausage Soup

I love soup. Now that Brooke and Harrison have learned the art of dunking bread in their broth, they love soup too. A hot bowl of soup paired with a baguette on a cold Indiana day always hits the spot. I made multiple batches of a few of our favorite soups a couple weekends ago, and froze a bunch. Even with enough frozen soup to last us a couple weeks, I still wanted to give this one a go. 

We first tried this at my uncle's house over Christmas. It was super delish, so I asked for the recipe. The original recipe used a couple canned soups, and I wanted to deviate from that. The flavor was great though, and the main ingredients are things the kids will happily eat. Broccoli and carrots are pretty much guaranteed edible vegetables where H and B are concerned, so we eat them a lot. And Harry LOVES sausage. He definitely gets that from me, or my dad. Smoked sausage was, and still is, a staple at my parent's house. 

So, a few tweaks here and there, and I am pretty darn happy with the outcome of this one. An added plus, since the recipe uses pre cooked sausage it's easy to make last minute if you didn't plan ahead, something I do far too often. This one will definitely be making it into our soup rotation.

Mixed Vegetable and Sausage Soup

Makes 8 servings

Prep time - 10 minutes

Cook time - 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
6 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 large carrots, sliced
10-16 oz broccoli
10-16 oz cauliflower
1 or 2 lbs smoked sausage

Directions:

1. Prep all vegetables.

2. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.

3. Add onion and celery to butter. Cook for 5 minutes, or until fragrant and softened.

4. Whisk in flour. Cook until starting to brown.

5. Slowly whisk in milk, keeping smooth.

6. Whisk in broth, then add cheese and sesonings. While continuously stirring, bring to a boil.

7. Add vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes.

8. Add sausage and cook until vegetables and tender and sausage is warmed through.

9. Serve hot and enjoy with a side of crusty bread.

Notes: You can use fresh or frozen vegetables. I used a mixture of both because I had some fresh cauliflower and carrots that needed to be used. Cooking time will vary depending upon the use of fresh or frozen. I used two pounds of Eckrich turkey sausage. Using one pound will let the veggies take more of center stage. Using flavored sausages would change the flavor and add more dimension to the soup. I think spicy sausage may be used on our next go round. We have recently learned how great the take and bake baguettes from the grocery are. I highly recommend serving one with this soup.