Yesterday I decided to try my hand at making a soup I’ve made a few times before, Zuppa Toscana in the Instant Pot and it turned out delicious and super easy. I am sharing that recipe below as well as homemade breadsticks made by scratch but took no time to whip up with a stand mixer. I would suggest if you can make your breadsticks an hour before you start the soup as they need time for two rises. Let’s cook!!!
Ingredients for Breadsticks:
- 2 cups of warm water (not hot)
- 2 tbsp of sugar
- 1 packet of fast acting yeast (this equals 2 1/4 tsp)
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 4-5 cups of flour
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1/2 stick of butter melted
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
- 1 tsp of garlic salt
- Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions for Breadsticks:
Add water and sugar to mixing bowl of stand mixer and stir. Add yeast and stir and let stand 5-10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Add butter, salt and 3 cups of flour. Mix with paddle until dough starts forming. Change out for dough hook and then add more flour a cup at a time as needed. You want dough to not be sticky but you don’t want it to be dry. It should not stick to your hands when touching. Take dough and form in the shape of a ball, spray or oil your bowl and then add ball and cover with towel. So my dough rises nicely. I place my bowl on my stove and turn my oven on to 170 degrees and the heat is just enough to help it rise nicely. Once doubled in size punch down with fist. Remove from bowl and shape in a rectangle. With a sharp nice cut into strips vertically. Place strips on well oiled cookie sheet. Turn stove up to 350 degrees and set cookie sheet on stove covered while you make your soup. After a 30 minute rise remove towel and place the breadsticks in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Combine melted butter, minced garlic and garlic salt and pour over breadsticks after they come out of the oven. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Ingredients for soup:
- Ground sausage (I use breakfast sausage)
- 3 peeled potatoes
- 1/4 cup of onion
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 4-6 cups of water ( or you can use 3 cups of chicken broth)
- 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 bag of spinach or you can use the traditional kale
- Seasonings – I used Italian, ranch, seasoned salt, garlic and onion powder and basil
Directions for soup:
Turn on sauté function on Instant Pot. Add olive oil, onions and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add ground sausage and cook til browned. Once browned you can drain any excess oil. Add water and chicken bouillon cubes or chicken broth if using. Add potatoes and seasonings. Place lid on and set o high pressure for 10 minutes. When finished let natural release for 5 minutes then switch to quick release to release rest of pressure. Add heavy whipping cream and stir. Add spinach and kale and let sit on warm for 5 minutes while spinach wilts. Taste for seasoning and add if necessary. Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired. Serve it up with the breadsticks and salad for a complete meal.
The soup can easily be made on the stovetop just let lightly boil on stove for 15 minutes so potatoes can get tender before adding heavy whipping cream and spinach.
I hope you make and enjoy both recipes and as always if you make it tag me on IG @severalpeoplesmama
Love Ricki
Listen!!! I was brunchin’ Sunday- Quarantine style! I don’t even like sausage but this casserole was so delicious and sooo filling!!! You could have this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And you can use any combination of veggies as well. Let’s get cooking, shall we?
Directions: Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray and layer the tater tots on the bottom. In a separate pan brown sausage, add onions, garlic, mushrooms. If you have peppers or spinach this would be good to add as well. Drain fat and add meat mixture on top of tater tots. I also added some leftover bacon bits but this is optional. Mix eggs with half and half and seasonings. Pour over tater tots and meat mixture. Let eggs soak into tater tots and meat mixture for at least 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step. You can actually make this the night before and bake in the morning. Top with cheese and back on 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let set for 15 minutes, cut into squares and serve.
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