jake’s favorite soup

Jake’s always had a few favorite dishes that I make. He’ll ask me to make certain things every once in awhile. The first dish that he requested again was this dish I adapted from a Diabetic Cookbook. It was called “Orange Scented Stir Fry” but I changed it to use chicken instead of beef and I put it together with noodles. It made a wonderful orange sauce that was really good on top of the noodles and the meat.

Other things he’s really loved: Sweet and Sour Pork, a 4 Cheese Pasta Bake, and homemade pizza.

I remember I kept telling him, “Oh I have to make you this soup!”, insisting that it was really good and that he might like it. He’d kind of brush me off, saying, “Yeah, yeah, okay.” He’s not much of a soup eater. He doesn’t find it very filling and I think the only soup I’ve ever really seen him eat before this was the Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden or the Corn Chowder from Mimi’s.

[Jake and I, goofing around with my new camera]

I once made soup just like Zuppa Toscana and left some at his house for him, but he never ate it. Hmph.

This soup changed everything.

He started asking me to make this soup nearly every weekend.

I think we had a stretch where we had the soup every weekend for a month.

That’s some serious soup love right there.

I’ve made some slight changes to it from when I originally made it, and more it’s now more a stew. But I’m still going to go ahead and called it a soup. I hope that’s okay with you.

Jake’s Favorite Soup

6 red potatoes, chopped into bite sized cubes
1 lb of hot Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
lots of chopped garlic (I usually use 6+ cloves, depending on my mood)
lots of fresh, chopped herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage)
32 oz box of low sodium chicken broth
few cups of milk (2 or 3)
about 4 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of frozen corn

My measurements are kind of wonky since I eyeball everything!

Cook your chopped onion in a bit of olive oil, with a little salt & pepper thrown in. Once the onions have browned a bit, add the garlic and cook for about another minute, until fragrant.

Add Italian sausage and cook until browned. Drain off any excess fat (leave just a little bit).

Add in your chopped herbs. Add in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. It should absorb any leftover fat and brown up a little for some flavor.

Add in the whole box of broth and milk.  Cook until heated through. Add potatoes and corn and let simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

If you’re not starving, you can simmer it a little longer to develop some killer flavors, but I’m usually hungry by this point.

Serve with some crusty bread and have at it!

Jake always adds in some Valentina hot sauce to his bowl of soup for that extra kick. I don’t like any extra kick, so mine stays as-is.

(Psst – if you didn’t see it, be sure to check out the giveaway I’ve got going on! Enter, enter, enter! You can win dinner for 2 to Del Mar Rendezvous during SDRW!)