Kielbasa Soup, Crockpot or Not: Gratitude Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Gratitude.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here's a peek at what we all came up with:

I made Kielbasa Soup, Crockpot or Not.

Kielbasa Soup, Crockpot or Not

I don't think it's a secret by now that I often express myself through food. I believe that the thought that goes into preparing meals for others, or baking with a loved one's favorite ingredient is not the only way but certainly one way to express love. 

The same applies to gratitude. Although we are all grateful for so many things through the year, and we often express it in a multitude of ways, this time of year, Thanksgiving, gratitude is traditionally expressed over a meal. At Thanksgiving time, my expression of love and gratitude falls in line with everyone else's. We all sit around a table, big or small, look at the faces of people we love and feel grateful that they are in our lives, that we are all warm and dry, and have hot food on our plated.

So for today's Gratitude themed Blog With Friends post, I've chosen to make Kielbasa Soup. And I make it for the people for whom I'm most grateful. 

Why do I choose to share this particular recipe at Thanksgiving time? Because Thanksgiving, when you have a family member living far away, isn't just one day. I'll be making this hot, hearty soup for dinner on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. And I'll keep it warm in the crockpot all night. Because my youngest son is flying in from cold, snowy Colorado that night and if he walks in the door hungry, I'll have a hot bowl of soup for him. I'll be grateful to have him home, and he'll be grateful for a hot meal.

I've included in the recipe directions (both below and on the printed recipe option) for making this soup in the slow cooker or on a stove top, your choice. For the pictured instructions I used my crockpot. 

I started by chopping my ingredients:

I immediately got all but the vegetables heating in the slow cooker:

I then softened the vegetables in a saute pan, stirred in the flour and added them to the slow cooker:

That's pretty much it. I left it on high for an hour, then cooked slowly on low for another 3 hours, adding the zucchini for the last hour.

I chose to serve with naan.

Oh, and the leftovers, if you have any, freeze well.
  

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:



 


Tamara of  Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares Thank God for Coffee - sometimes it's the little things.



 
 


Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares Gratitude - the list is long AND a surprise. 

 



Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Show Your Gratitude Through a Handmade Greeting Card. 


 




Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Family Favorites, Fun Fall Festivities.

Kielbasa Soup, Crockpot or Not

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lg carrot, chopped
2 TBSP flour
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup white wine
4 new potatoes, cleaned and chopped
1 (14 oz) Kielbasa, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 TBSP Italian seasoning blend
1 zucchini, shredded

Directions, Crockpot:
*Grease your slow cooker. Add the tomatoes with their juice, vegetable broth, white wine, chopped potatoes, Kielbasa, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and turn on to high.
*Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic and carrot, and stir until the vegetables soften, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for one minute. Mix into the slow cooker.
*Cook for 1 hour. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours. Add the zucchini and cook for one more hour.

Directions, Stove Top:
*Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic and carrot, and stir until the vegetables soften, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for one minute. 
*Next add the canned tomatoes with their juice, vegetable broth, white wine, chopped potatoes, Kielbasa, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
*Raise the heat to just a notch above medium and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, add the zucchini and simmer for about 15 more minutes, until the potatoes are soft.