Sausage & Potato Soup

It's freezing cold in Iowa today! OK - so its not quite freezing, but its a huge change when the high is only 40 degrees. BRRRR! Perfect day for soup!!

I was trying to use up the rest of a bag of potatoes and some chicken sausage links. I wasn't sure how it was going to all come together since I had no recipe. I got out my new crock pot bags and lined a 4 quart crock pot. I peeled 6 red potatoes and sliced them about 1/4 inch thick. I then layered them in the bottom of the crock pot. I then sliced a pack of Bistro Sensations Three Cheese with Roasted Tomato Chicken Sausages in to 1/2 inch pieces and layered them on top of the potatoes, continuing to layer until I was out of both potatoes and sausage. I then places several round thin slices of yellow onion on top.

I then mixed up a GF Cream Soup Mix to pour over top. I used 1/2 cup mix, 1/2 cup water and 1.5 cups of chicken broth and heated it until it started to thicken (I used the microwave, which is totally cheating for a cream soup mix, but it worked okay as long as I stirred it often). I got it to the thickness I wanted and poured it over top the layers and then put the lid on the crock pot. I cooked it on high for about 4 hours until the potatoes were tender. We tasted it and my glutenous hubby thought it could use some red pepper flakes...he was right! I also added just a sprinkle of tapioca flour to thicken the liquid a bit more as I added a few heavy shakes of crushed red pepper (like my measuring?) and stirred it in to mix the spices up well. I then put the crock pot on low for another 30 minutes or so.

I loved how spicy it was, but doesn't have to be it all depends on the person eating it. You can use any flavor of chicken sausages too. I added some shredded Swiss to my first bowl (yea I had two) and then Mexican mix cheese to my 2nd bowl...both were fantastic!!! It was easy and cooked all day without me doing anything except stir it - my kind of meal!!

Bistro Sensations

We love these Chicken Sausages. Bistro Sensations offers many different flavors of chicken sausages that can be grilled, cooked on the stove or microwaved. They offer some that are spicy and some that have a sweet flavor to them. The only place I have found them is Walmart. They run about $4 a package. We have tried every kind they offer and so far haven't been disappointed. Our family favorite is the Habanero and Monterrey Cheddar cooked with fried potatoes and peppers. Give them a try if you are looking for something different! They are reasonable calorie wise and the packages clearly states GLUTEN FREE.