Sausage and Tortellini Soup

It’s soup season and soup season makes me very happy. This particular soup is incredibly flavorful and gets two thumbs up from my family, despite being made from just a few simple ingredients. If you keep fresh tortellini in the fridge and precooked sausage in the freezer, you can have steaming bowls of hot soup ready as little as 20 minutes.

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Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• 6 quart stockpot https://amzn.to/3Di9OSg

• beef bone broth https://amzn.to/3ZMGVFk

• beef stock https://amzn.to/3P1DlSK

• cannellini beans https://amzn.to/3BzxO2W

• cheese-filled tortellini https://amzn.to/3ZYiztJ

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Sausage and Tortellini Soup

makes 6 hearty servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 cup beef bone broth or beef stock

• 1 pound crumbled sweet italian sausage, cooked and drained

• 16 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn, okra, etc)

• 3 cups cooked cheese-filled tortellini

• optional garnish: grated parmesan, croutons (try my recipe), chopped scallions, chopped parsley

Directions

1. In a 6-quart stockpot, heat beef bone broth, cooked sausage, and vegetables until hot and bubbly.

2. Place 1/2 cup cooked tortellini in each bowl and top off with hot soup.

3. Garnish if desired and enjoy!

Notes

• To make this soup even more hearty, add a can of drained cannellini beans.

• To prevent the tortellini from getting soggy, don’t add them to the soup bowls until serving.

• Leftover soup and cooked tortellini should be stored separately to prevent the tortellini from becoming mushy.

• I like to keep portions of cooked sausage in the freezer so I can throw this soup together even faster.

Bee-Sting Glazed Ham

I enjoy a standard glazed ham as much as the next person, but a friend shared this wonderful Bee-Sting Glaze recipe with me and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. As the name implies, this glaze offers a little “sting” thanks to honey and a touch of cayenne pepper. But fear not, the heat is gentle. Even guests who are opposed to spicy foods will enjoy this tasty ham recipe.

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Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• microplane grater https://amzn.to/3UT4Scy

• honey https://amzn.to/3AVCUWJ

• disposable roasting pan https://amzn.to/3UUPjkN

Bee-Sting Glazed Ham

makes about 20 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 pound fully cooked, bone-in smoked half ham

• 1 cup honey

• 2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• zest of one lemon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and place rack in lower center position.

2. Place ham, cut side down, in a large roasting pan; score the fat side of the ham in a diamond pattern as shown in the photo above.

3. Pour 1/2 cup water around the ham and and cover the roasting pan well with foil; bake for 1 hour.

4. In a medium saucepan over medium, heat the honey, brown sugar, ginger, cayenne, cloves, and black pepper together, whisking frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved; remove from heat and allow to cool before stirring in the lemon zest.

5. Remove foil from ham and continue baking; brush generously with glaze every 10 minutes, for a total of 50-60 minutes (total cooking time should be about 2 hours).

6. If there is any leftover glaze, stir it into the strained pan drippings and serve with the ham.

Note

• For easy cleanup, use a disposable roasting pan. Be sure to place it on a half sheet pan so you can move it in and out of the oven easily without it collapsing.