White Bean and Kale Soup with Roasted Sausages and Tomatoes

It’s been downright chilly around here lately. Granted, it’s not nearly as cold as it is in Boston, Chicago, or Minneapolis… But, it has been cold!

So, when I have been thinking about what to make for dinner each night, soup is constantly the first thing that comes to my mind. I guess that it’s handy that soup is the theme for this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge!

Creamy Carrot and Potato Soup

I loooove this soup!

That’s what I used to tell my mom when she made this soup for me when I was a kid… And, now that I’ve made it myself, I’m still raving about how much I love this soup!

I guess I should start at the beginning. Long before Lonely Island proclaimed their love for being on a boat, there were Bert and Ernie… You know who I’m talking about – from Sesame Street! Perhaps this clip will jog your memory a bit…

I watched quite a bit of Sesame Street in my day. So, when my mom made this carrot and potato soup for me when I was a kid, I would walk around letting everyone know how I felt about the soup, Ernie style. In fact, my mom has a handwritten note in her cookbook that says “Jenny LOVES this soup!” (Yes, I was known as Jenny back then, too… And, there may be a few people who still call me that.)

Sweet Potato Soup with Crisp Prosciutto

Are you a leftovers fan? I’m not. Not at all.

There’s just something that happens to leftovers once they enter my refrigerator. They change somehow and become completely inedible to me. It happens with even my favorite foods… They enter the “cold zone” and are never the same.

I don’t like to be wasteful, though… And, I also bad making my husband eat all of the leftovers (though, he doesn’t have the same issues that I have). So, I tend to re-purpose my leftovers. For reasons I can’t understand, when I view leftovers as ingredients instead of just food to be reheated, I have no trouble using them up. It makes no sense, I realize.

Sweet Potato Chili

Lately I’ve been in a bit of a cooking slump. I can think of lots of things that I’d love to bake, but since I cannot live on cake, cookies, and cupcakes alone (don’t I wish!), I’ve been forced to try to fight through my lack of inspiration and cook anyway.

When I’m feeling uninspired, I tend towards pizzas, frittatas, and soups… They are all of my “blank canvas” foods that lend themselves well to whatever’s in the fridge. I’ve found myself making a lot of them lately… Especially soups. The cooler weather that we’ve been having just begs for soup, if you ask me.

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