I'm still here & with a recipe too!

Well, I'm back from chilly Missouri, where I had a lovely Christmas spent with family and friends. Luckily, my morning sickness started subsiding as soon as we landed in the midwest! This newfound energy & the fact that food sounded GOOD for once made the trip so much more enjoyable! I certainly used that to my advantage and ate more than any 5' 2" girl should, but it was so refreshing to enjoy eating again! I'm 14 weeks today and hoping that this new energy level sticks! I'm ready to start on the many baby sewing projects I've been stock piling and maybe even cooking up some new recipes!

Landing in San Diego was quite a shocker... the weather has been unusually cool and it rained ALL day yesterday! So in honor of the weather, I thought I'd give you a good comforting, cold day recipe. I just love soup this time of year and when I say soup, I usually mean Stoup. Stoup is RR word for a cross between stew & soup, and in my book… it’s perfect. This one usually sounds pretty good to me… but after one spoonful, I have to sigh of contentment and submit fully to the goodness. Here’s what you need…

Sausage Stoup                                                                               Rachael Ray (tweaked a bit)
EVOO
S&P
2 small heads of Brocollini (looks like baby broccoli) (cut into bite sized pieces)
1lb bulk mild Italian sausage
1 large onion (finely chopped)
Pinch of nutmeg
32oz chicken stock
28oz diced tomatoes
15oz can white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups of any short cut pasta (I use rigatoni)
Grated romano or parm (to top it off right)

First grab a pot and get some water boiling! Add the brocollini, salt & cook for 3 minutes. Drain it and set aside.

Next grab your big soup pot and cook the sausage for about 5 minutes. Make sure you give it a good crumble. Add the onion and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Season with S&P and Nutmeg. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and about 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Stir in the brocollini, white beans and get it boiling again.

Now you’ll add your pasta and cook to package directions. When the bubbly stoup is all done, serve it up in a big bowl with plenty of cheese on top.

Mmm Mm!