Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Fall is on the calendar so Joan decided to warm us up with this soup. She said that using the coleslaw mix made this an easy preparation.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package coleslaw mix
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 rice (white or brown)
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a 6-quart pot, brown beef. Add coleslaw mix and onion; cover and cook for 4 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, beef broth, water, brown sugar, lemon juice and salt; bring to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

Chicken Sausage, Peppers & Tomatoes with Linguine

Joan and I were introduced to the taste of chicken-feta sausage during our visit to the Bella Rose Bed & Breakfast. So when Joan found this recipe in the summer 2012 issue of Kraft Foods Food & Family, she purchased some chicken-feta sausage from Wegmans and prepared this meal for dinner.

What You Need:
1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
1 pkg. (12 oz.) chicken-feta sausage links, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
 3 bell peppers (assorted colors), coarsely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Make It:
Cook pasta as directed onpackage, omitting salt.
Meanwhile, cook sausage and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 4 to 6 min. or until sausage is heated through and peppers are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 5 to 6 min. or until tomatoes ares softened, stirring occasionally.
Drain pasta. Add to skillet with 2 Tbsp. cheese; mix lightly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

PREP 25 min.    MAKES 6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.

Tortellini Meatball Soup

Even though plans for dinner were tentatively made, Joan decided to prepare this soup. Glad she did. Adding a garden fresh salad to complement the soup produced a satisfying meal.

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 7 minutes

1 cup chopped sweet onion (1 small)
2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 32-oz. container reduced sodium or all-natural chicken broth
1/2 cup of water
1/2 of a 16-oz. pkg. frozen Italian-style cooked meatballs
1 9-oz. pkg. refrigerated 4-cheese tortellini
1 tsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
3 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
3 tbsp. chopped bottled roasted red sweet pepper
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper
1 tbsp. snipped fresh basil

In a Dutch oven cook ans stir onion, carrots, and garlic in hot olive oil for about 3 minutes or until tender. Add chicken broth and water. Bring to boiling. Add meatballs, tortellini, and Italian seasoning. Return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Add spinach, red pepper, and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes more or until tortellini are done. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in basil. Ladle into bowls.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.