This minestrone is the type of hearty throw-everything-from-the-fridge-in soup that I love this time of year.

Ingredients2.5 Cups Flour1 Cup Cornmeal1 Cup Sugar2 Tablespoons Baking Powder1.5 Teaspoons Salt1.5 Cups Milk2 Eggs2 Sticks Butter1 Onion diced 2 Carrots diced 4 Celery Stalks diced 1 Tablespoon Minced Sage1.5 Tablespoons Minced Thyme1 Pound Ground Turkey3/4 Cup Chopped Dried Cranberries1/2 Cup Grated Parm1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs1 Egg1 Teaspoon Salt For: 36 mini muffinsPreparation: 1 hCooking: 30…

I’ve made lots of ethnic chili variations over the years, and every fall I like to do at least one cause I loooove chili. I decided to try an Italian version, and much to my surprise, there were already lots of Italian chili versions out there. I guess I should have known cause it’s sort of an obvious combo. As always in this sort of situation, I took some of the ideas out there and combined them with my own additions. My additions this time were using both dried chiles and dried mushrooms as the base flavors in the chili, and loading the soup with salami to add an amazing richness to the whole pot.

A quick note about sponsored posts. I posted a big one yesterday, and there will be more coming in the next few months as food companies try and get their product out for the holidays. I like sponsored posts because they help me find new inspiration and come up with creative recipes. But let’s be honest, I also like sponsored posts cause I get paid. I promise you guys two things. First, I will always stay true to my blogging style and create unique fun recipes for you. Second, I will always post a sponsored post IN ADDITION to my regular schedule. Monday and Friday will always be original unsponsored content. Wednesdays will always be a Tablespoon post. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there will usually be nothing, but sometimes there will be a sponsored post, or with the cookbook coming out soon, there might be updates about the book or links to public appearances or other fun stuff. Anyways, enough housekeeping. Back to the deliciousness!

Some people say that your soup is only going to be as good as your stock, and that store bought stock is not really an option if you want a really good soup. If you read this blog at all, you probably know that I disagree with this statement, and have no problem using store bought stock in most of my soups. Most of my soups though, are loaded with lots of stuff, and the broth isn’t really the star. This soup however, making your own broth is essential because the broth IS the soup. It’s loaded with spicy peppercorns, savory parmesan cheese, and bright lemon flavors. I get this soup as takeout when it’s been a long week, but I decided to make it from scratch last week. It worked out well because I was sick over the weekend, but I had a ton of this soup to help make me feel better!

These gnocchi use hummus instead of potato for cool shortcut and a tasty twist on a classic dish.

I think this idea came from an old episode of Iron Chef where Bobby Flay cooks some pasta in jalapeno juice. One of my favorite things to cook with jalapeno is bacon, and it seems to be a very popular thing these days. There is even jalapeno crusted bacon in the grocery store! You would think that this dish is all bold intense flavors, but it actually came out more subtle and perfectly balanced. Boiling the pasta in jalapeno juice didn’t give it a crazy spicy taste, but rather imparted the true jalapeno flavor with just a little bit of the heat that it is so well known for. This was a fairly easy dish with unique and delicious flavors that I would highly suggest anyone who has a juicer to make immediately.