No One Makes Soup Like Mom {Recipe: Chicken Sausage Chowder}

My mother was the soup queen. She made soups all of the time. They were usually really good, but you never really wanted to know what went in them. She never wasted food, so any little bit of food left over was put in the freezer then eventually made it into soup. I don't think she ever followed a recipe.

The effects of the depression was evident in how my mother treated food. It was never, ever wasted. Even if there was just a spoonful or two of food left from whatever, it was put into a small Tupperware container and frozen. I guess it was good that no-one forced themselves to finish up that last little bit, but whatever was left usually found it's way into soup.

Usually using a little bit of this and that along with some homemade stock or broth, some seasoning  and maybe some home canned tomatoes made for a pretty tasty soup. There is only one incident that it did not work so well that I can recall. My brother was the "lucky" recipient of some gross gelatinous stuff in his bowl of soup. It turned out, my mom threw some frozen leftover egg white into the soup and did not wait long enough for it to cook-ewwww!!! The take away here is always simmer the soup for awhile after adding an ingredient.

While I do not like to waste food, I am not as careful as my mother was. If there is a spoon full of something left, it is usually gets eaten, full or not, or tossed. If I make a soup, I follow a recipe. With the exception of chicken noodle or vegetable-then I just wing it.

Recently I made this soup. It is really good! The entire family loved it and fought over who got the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Chicken Sausage Chowder

This soup is adapted from a recipe found @ http://simplehacksliving.com/2014/12/healthy-bratwurst-chowder/

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken sausage links, Oktoberfest or bratwurst, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup chopped carrots (about 3 whole carrots)
1 cup chopped celery (2-2 1/2 celery stalks)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
4 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can of corn, rinsed and drained or 1 small bag of frozen corn
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon basil
3/4 teaspoon thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sharp or Extra sharp Cheddar cheese, chopped green onion and/or fresh cracked black pepper for topping

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Brown chopped sausage. Add onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the sausage/veggie mixture, stir and cook about 2 more minutes. Add milk, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, thyme, salt and pepper (I added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon fine ground pepper, but you can taste to check seasoning). Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature to low. Simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Note: This recipe can be adapted for the crockpot. Sauté the sausage and veggies according to the instructions above, then spoon into the crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook for about 6-7 hours on low. 

Update: Adding 2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped, is a yummy addition to this soup. Add the potatoes after the milk and broth; simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Makes  8 servings