It rained for an hour this afternoon and that was all it took to put me in the mood for soup. I was on the countdown with the spinach from Costco (today is the "best use by" date) and my red potatoes have seen better days, so what better to marry them then a rich broth made from spicy sausage and cream (actually half and half)? 

Potato Spinach Sausage Soup

Ingredients
1 T butter (I actually used bacon fat from pastured pigs)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 stalks celery, finely chopped (I used my mini-chopper)
1 1/2-2 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
4-6 cups spinach
1.5 pounds spicy sausage (or add spices to ground pork - I did a mixture of both, from pastured pigs)
4 cups water
1/2-1 cup half and half
sea salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Directions:

1. Saute onion and celery in butter (or bacon fat) for five minutes in a stock pot. 
2. Stir in garlic and saute for one minute.
3. Pour in water and add about a teaspoon of sea salt (or to taste).
4. Turn up the heat to high, add potatoes, seasonings (to taste) and bring to a boil.
5. Turn to down to a simmer, form the sausage into meatballs (about 1" in diameter), and drop them into the broth, one by one (or all at once, if you read this and decided to make the meatballs in advance, and then let them cook for a few minutes).
6. Pour the spinach on top, spreading it out across the pot, then gently stirring it (it's okay if the meatballs break up a little, or even if they totally crumble). 
7. Simmer until meat is fully cooked and spinach is nicely wilted. 
8. Stir in the half and half and simmer until heated through.
9. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes at the table. 

Fry one large onion and a pound of chicken in butter w/s&p in cast iron pan.  Move to baking pan.  Add more butter to pan. Saute garlic, chard, mushrooms, potatoes, 1.5 cups rice, curry powder, garam masala, ginger, garlic powder, s&p, and chopped pickled jalapenos for a few minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Simmer with a lid for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, season chicken with all of the above spices. Mix veggie mixture in with chicken and add a cup of water.  Cover tightly with foil and bake in oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Top with chopped cashews and broil for 3 minutes or until browned. (maybe you could skip the baking step if you simmered longer with more broth/water? or skip the simmering if you bake longer?). Posting for safe keeping - will post pics next time :)