By: Al
The “Big Game” is this weekend and nobody cares if the red and yellow team beats the red and gold team. Here at ASS, we care about good food.
Specifically, if you follow me, you will know I care about good soup. Which is why below are some of my favorite go-to soup recipes. They are sure to turn your next party from good to ‘soup’er.
Please note, King ASS will hate all of these recipes because vegetables are involved. If you hate vegetables, go find the chicken nuggets you keep in the freezer.
Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage and Spinach
This first soup was introduced to me by my mother and made its way into my rotation because it is quick and easy (insert that’s what she said joke here). I will not make you scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to find the recipe. We save that job for Pinterest.
You will need:
Some oil
1 pound of ground Italian Sausage
1 diced onion (the original calls for 1/2, but who uses only half an onion?)
Some garlic (use however much your heart desires)
28 oz. can of crushed tomato
32 oz. of broth (probably use vegetable or chicken?)
2 tablespoons of fresh basil (I personally just sprinkle a shit ton of dried basil that I keep in my spice drawer in there and it turns out fine)
Salt and pepper (season your food with the bare minimum)
9 oz. container of tortellini
2 cups of fresh spinach (chop it up a little before you throw it in the pot)
The instructions are very simple. In a large pot:
1. Heat oil, add onion, sauté onion until soft
2. Add Italian Sausage and garlic to the onion. Cook it until the sausage is cooked.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, broth, basil, salt, and pepper. Let that baby come to a boil and then simmer it for 20 minutes.
4. Bring the tortellini and spinach to the party. Cook it for 5-10 minutes.
And that is how you have soup in under an hour. If you want to get fancy, you can sprinkle it with parmesan cheese and toast some bread for dipping.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chicken Soup
Look, I know you read the title of this next soup and thought, “there is no way this is good.” I can promise you this soup is delicious if you like all of these things separately. Even better, there is a way to make this soup vegetarian/vegan if that is your thing. This soup was put on my radar by my friend Ike and a stash has stayed in my freezer since. What is better than going upstairs after a long day of work from home to the sweet smells of a crockpot meal? You probably listed about four things, but my point stands. *If there are peanut allergies among us, this is not for you.*
Ingredients:
15 oz. can of coconut milk
15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
1.5 cups broth (chicken or veggie is fine)
.5 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon ginger (if you don’t want to grate it yourself, just buy the tube of paste)
Garlic (you tell the soup how much it needs)
.5 teaspoon cayenne (if spicy is not your thing, use less)
Salt and pepper
1.5 pounds chicken breast (for me, this is usually 2. Trying to go the vegetarian route? Use two cans of chickpeas)
1 yellow onion
In your crockpot, add all the liquid, peanut butter, seasoning, garlic, and ginger. Whisk it all together (it won’t look pretty, but please trust the process).
Add your chicken/chickpeas and onion to crockpot.
Cover her up and leave her on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
When it’s done cooking, you will want to remove the chicken breasts and shred them with some forks.
*Authors note* In the last 30 minutes or so, I usually add a bag of frozen peas, spinach, and mushrooms to add some extra veggies. This soup is pretty thick, so I also serve it over some jasmine rice. Modify this soup however you like!
Black Bean Soup
This recipe has recently become a favorite after a coworker shared the recipe with me. This is another crockpot recipe that you could, theoretically, prep the night before, pull it from the fridge in the morning, and let cook all day. Apparently this soup is so good that my phone never ate first, so you do not get photo evidence of it.
This is the longest of the ingredient lists, and for that, I am sorry.
1 large white onion
2 red bell peppers (you can use a different color if you like)
3 carrots
Garlic (again, choose your own adventure)
1-2 jalapeños (deseed these and don’t use them if your tongue is sensitive)
4 cups of stock (Is it the same as broth? I am unsure. Just find some of that veggie or chicken liquid)
2, 29 oz. cans of black beans (Drain them or don’t, it’s up to you.)
2 Bay leaves (I hate when bay leaves)
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of chili powder (I am once again letting you know that if spice is not your thing, use less.)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of cayenne or paprika (I live on the edge and did one of each, but you do you.)
.5 teaspoons of pepper
Onion and garlic powder to taste
Dice all the veggies and then throw everything into the crockpot. If you would like to cook it on high, you can do so for 3-4 hours. If you have more time and like the low and slow method, you should let it cook for 6-8.
Once it is done, use an immersion blender or a regular blender to pure about 3/4 of the soup.
This soup is best served with a big handful of sprinkle cheese and a dollop of sour cream alongside two slices of toasted bread.
Whether you are feeding the family or just yourself, soup is always a good option. Plus, it is affordable (blah, blah, blah inflation). If you live alone, make sure you grab some freezer safe Tupperware and throw the excess in the freezer for later. Next time you don’t feel like cooking, you can defrost soup from your stash. Enjoy all the food at the various parties you will be attending this weekend, but make sure you save room for soup!
All Sports Scene 
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