Tortellini and Sausage Soup

One of the best things I love about fall is making soup to serve along with my homemade bread. Mmmmm. Such comfort food! I ran across this recipe on the internet and knew I wanted to give it a try. What caught my eye was that it was this blogger's traditional Halloween Night meal and her most requested recipe. I typically make Grady's broccoli cheese soup as my traditional Halloween Night meal, but I'm all for change. It also seemed like a spicier version of Mom's vegetable soup with dumplings, which has always been a family favorite.

Well, patience is not one of my virtues. Why wait for Halloween? After modifying/simplifying the original recipe, it turned out to be the perfect soup to serve as we cheered on the Vols (to no avail). Even Steve, someone who is very conscientious about portion control, helped himself to two bowls. No doubt about it: this one's a keeper and is now on our own list of family favorites. If you haven't already planned your own pre-trick or treat meal, I highly recommend this!

Tortellini and Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sweet or spicy Italian sausage
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 cups sliced zucchini
• 8 oz fresh cheese tortellini
• Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Remove sausage from casing. Brown and drain sausage.

Bring all ingredients except zucchini, tortellini, and cheese to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Skim off any fat and stir in zucchini and tortellini. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes or until tortellini and zucchini are tender. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Happy Fall Y'all!

What a beautiful time of year! Steve and I just returned from a quick trip to the Smokies. Although the colors weren't at their peak, the mountains were simply stunning.

I can't help but notice the beauty of the season close to home, too.  My neighbors go all out with the seasonal decorations. Pumpkins, scarecrows, and mums galore! To be honest, I'm feeling a little pressure. Surfing Pinterest and following many blogs just add to this feeling of inadequacy. . . especially when I stumbled upon this post:

"But really, we all know that decorating the front entry of our homes for fall is an absolute must do!  Especially since I'm the neighbor that totally skipped over the whole pumpkin month last year - yep, I was totally that neighbor - with dead ferns by her front door on Halloween - now that is scary."

Ouch. My family knows how tight I am with money. It's just so hard for me to make purchases that seem so temporary. I guess I've rationalized all these years that I have dried ferns, not dead ferns. There's a difference, right? How can others get by with displaying dead corn? So not fair. Nevertheless, I'm determined to no longer be that neighbor.

Phase I: Good. Give my dried ferns to the garbage man. I think my porch looks a little sad and bare, but at least no one can say I have dead ferns anymore!

Phase II: Better. Replace dried ferns with mums. I can rationalize pretty much any expense if it comes in orange and white! :)

Phase III: Best. My all-time favorite seasonal decoration for this time of year? Shrek! He has followed us on three moves to three different neighborhoods. Inevitably, he becomes a popular photo op for trick-or-treaters. I crack up every time Shrek strikes up a conversation with the little ones. While Steve isn't a true ventriloquist, it doesn't take much to stir the imagination of your typical 3-year-old. Now that's priceless!

Happy Fall Y'all!