I have seen so many articles and posts about Yaka Mein, ever since Anthony Bourdain featured Miss Linda Green on his show, “No Reservations.” But Yaka Mein first came on my radar in this article from Go Nola. I knew I just had to taste Yaka Mein and I knew the only way that was going to happen is if I made it myself. So here is my Instant Pot Yaka Mein. (Stovetop directions included, too.)
New Orleans Instant Pot Yaka Mein – Stovetop directions, too.
Yaka Mein has a long history so I’m not going to go too much into that because it’s been covered extensively elsewhere, like in this article from The Deep South. I am going to tell you to make it if I can be so bossy! And make it soon. There’s no need to lose another day without having Yaka Mein in your belly!
Sometimes, even if you are frugal, you need an indulgence and this Creamy Mushroom Brie Bisque is one of those. When I had this for dinner the other night I was literally transported to cozy little Bistro.
I have a thing for Cabbage Rolls and try to make a pan of them every year. This year, though, I decided to “roll” all those flavors into Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup, instead. No worries if you don’t have an Instant Pot because the stove-top instructions are here, too.
Caldo de Res is usually a long-simmered beef Mexican soup made with shank, but today I wanted to show you a shortcut Caldo de Res you can get on the table quickly. And not to worry guys, I know I’ve been posting a lot of Mexican food! I’ll be mixing things up this week just in case you’re not the fan I am!
Hey, ya’ll, I hope you’ll forgive another soup recipe if it’s 80 degrees where you are, but seeing as we have tons of snow I’m still in full on comfort mode. But maybe no matter what the temp is where you are, you’ll want to try this Chicken, Chickpea & Orecchiette Pasta Soup. Can I say Hygge? I feel a little silly when I get all trendy and say things like Hygge, but look it up. This soup will be in the definition.
I’m still working on a few leftovers from Easter, how about you? One thing I love to do is make soup with my ham. This year I made a Honey Glazed Cajun Spiced Ham, so I knew that Cajun Ham & Rice Soup would bring those flavors home.
It snowed again. Yep. Not on Easter (and April Fool’s Day) but the day before. It was like a cruel joke, and it put me right into comfort mode. Anyway, here’s some of that comfort, Easy Cheesy Ham & Potato Chowder. It’s wrap up in a throw with your big fuzzy socks and eat from a mug comfort!
How do I know about Brunswick Stew Virginia Style? Back in the 70’s, we went on one of very few family vacations that didn’t include dogs (My Dad raised Goldens and showed extensively), probably to try to instill some sort of family bonding combined with a patriotic zeal to renew our faith in Family, God, and Country.
If you grew up in the Midwest or any area with German (or Eastern European) roots, you might have grown up with this hearty & healthy soup. And you already know that Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup is absolute comfort food. A bowl of this will warm you up from the inside out even on the coldest days.
Smoked Sausage & Cabbage Soup
You’ll find versions of Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup all over the Midwest, and just about everywhere immigrants from Germany, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia settled. Every family, it seems, has their own little special touches.
About Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup:
Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup, has, of course, Smoked Sausage & Cabbage, but also has a melange of healthy veggies. There’s usually red potatoes, lots of celery & carrots and of course, onions and garlic. All good, hearty and common veggies – but the kicker is that this long-simmered soup (or quick instant pot version) tastes like so much more than the sum of its parts! All those flavors just meld together with the sausage, broth, and spices into a glorious and hearty meal.
Ever since I got back from Georgia (New & the Old 2017 covers the trip and the Top Ten most popular recipes in 2017) I’ve been making Smoked Sausage & Cabbage Soup over and over. I can’t seem to get enough. This recipe makes a good-sized pot and freezes well. It’s a great soup to make for a crowd after a winter activity and you can make and stash portions in the freezer if you’re into Food Prep.
Smoked Sausage & Cabbage Soup
Making Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup:
Some families use a touch of sugar in their Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup and others a little sauerkraut or vinegar. I’m a fan of vinegar, myself. The vinegar just wakes up those flavors and it’s kind of like magic. As far as spicing, there’s usually white pepper and/or black, celery seed and/or caraway and sometimes garlic. Me, I hedge my bets and use a little of each of the black pepper and white, and a little of each of the celery and caraway. And lots of garlic! Caraway is a strong, distinctive spice, a seed, and is often in cole-slaw, too. If you’ve never had it before, use a light hand with it until you see if you like the taste. Recently I’ve seen a lot of recipes for Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup that use Italian Seasoning (I’m just sayin’ so wrong, but if you like it, go for it. It’s your soup!)
Sausages can be varied; I’ve always used Smoked or Kielbasa, but my favorite pot of soup this year was made with Smoked Jalapeno Sausage. It was a mistake, really, but a fantastic one! I had it in the freezer and had thawed it out and didn’t notice what kind of sausage it was until I took it out to slice. I would highly recommend that Smoked Jalapeno Sausage for a little non-traditional twist. I’d say to stay away from any of the turkey sausages – they just aren’t great in this soup or in many long cooked recipes.
In the past, I’ve usually made Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup on the stove top in my big Dutch oven, and sometimes I made it in the slow cooker (I think it’s best on high for 3 to 4 hours but if you’re working all day, it’s still ok done on low for 8 or so.) It wasn’t long, though, before the Instant Pot got involved! Just a few hints for when you’re making Smoked Sausage & Cabbage Soup in the slow cooker or Instant Pot: follow the instructions for the slicing as closely as possible so everything cooks up just right. If the sausage is too thin, the texture will suffer and if the potatoes are too small, they won’t stand up to either the pressure cooking or the long cooking time in the slow cooker.
Saving Money on Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup:
I have just a few shopping tips: Look for any Smoked Sausage on sale and use coupons. You can pick it up for a song, so follow the coupon matching site for your store. Smoked Sausage can stay in the fridge for weeks, freezes well and doesn’t take a lot of room. Stock up, particularly in the fall when it’s usually at a low.
The rest of the ingredients are generally always inexpensive. Check Aldi for the best prices if you have one nearby, on the potatoes and carrots. I’ve noticed that sometimes Aldi doesn’t carry cabbage. If you don’t buy at Aldi, generally the larger packages of carrots and potatoes are cheaper. I tend to use any of the oddly shaped ones in things like soup and save the larger, more uniform ones for a side or if potatoes, for baking. Watch the prices on cabbage, by the way, and whether or not the pricing is per head or per pound. If your not careful, you can end up with a pricey head of cabbage.
Serve your Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Soup with a good hearty bread, and if you like the dark bread like pumpernickel or rye, you can’t go wrong with either. I like to make my easy, overnight Crusty Bread when I serve soup.
1 package of kielbasa, Polish sausage, or smoked sausage of choice, sliced on the diagonal about 3/8ths inch thick
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon celery or caraway seeds or 1/2 teaspoon each
6 to 7 cups chicken broth
2 stalks celery, sliced about 3/8ths inch thick
3 large carrots, peeled & chopped in smallish dice
1 small or 1/2 head of large cabbage, coarsely chopped
4 medium red potatoes, peeled & cubed into 1″ pieces
3/4 to 1 teaspoon of salt to taste; don’t skimp
1/2 teaspoon or more of pepper or a combination of black and white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar, more to taste
Parsley for garnish, optional
In a large Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat to medium-high. Add smoked sausage and cook until golden brown, stirring as needed. Remove and add the onion, using an additional tablespoon oil if needed. Saute until tender. Add garlic and caraway or celery seed and cook for a minute longer, until garlic becomes fragrant.
Add the chicken broth, first about a cup or so and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze, then add the remainder. If you’d like your soup thick, hold back a cup until soup is finished and add it at the end if you’d like. Add the sausage back in along with celery, carrots, cabbage and potatoes, salt and pepper. Give it a stir.
Bring to a boil, then cover partially with a lid and reduce to a brisk simmer. Continue to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and soup is done to your liking.
Add vinegar, then taste and add more salt, pepper, and/or more vinegar if desired. Sprinkle with parsley if using.
1 package of kielbasa, Polish sausage, or smoked sausage of choice, sliced on the diagonal about 3/8ths inch thick
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon celery or caraway seeds or 1/2 teaspoon each
6 to 7 cups chicken broth, divided
3/4 to 1 teaspoon of salt to taste; don’t skimp
1/2 teaspoon or more of pepper or a combination of black and white pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled & chopped in smallish dice
2 stalks celery, sliced about 3/8ths inch thick
1 small or 1/2 head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
4 medium red potatoes, peeled & cubed into 1″ pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar, more to taste
Parsley for garnish, optional
Add 1 tablespoon oil to Instant Pot and Heat Instant Pot on Saute, High. When hot, add smoked sausage and cook until golden brown, stirring as needed. Add garlic and caraway or celery seed and cook for a minute longer, until garlic becomes fragrant.
Add about a cup of the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Add onion, carrots, celery, and the remainder of the stock (hold back on a cup of the stock if you’d like a thick soup, then add at the end if you’d like) and salt & pepper to taste and stir.
Add cabbage and then potatoes, but don’t stir. Sprinkle the vinegar over the potatoes and a little bit more salt if you’d like.
Add ring to the lid and seal the pot. Cancel the Saute Function and set Instant Pot to Manual Pressure, 4 minutes. When finished, use Quick Release (it will take several minutes.)
Stir, taste and adjust any seasonings, add more vinegar, salt or pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parsley if using.
Note: this soup goes very fast if you chop as you go; start with the sausage, get it going and then continue. The pot will already be hot when it is sealed so won’t take very long to come up to pressure.
So last week I posted Philly Cheesesteak Sliders (before I knew how badly our Vikings were going to be trounced!) This week, I thought what the heck. New England Clam Chowder was in order. For the Superbowl, eh? You betcha.
New England Clam Chowder – make this as thick or as thin as you’d like, very easily!
So hey, here I am a Minnesota blogger and I have no Wild Rice Soup on my blog. Uff da. Well, I do have a Wild Rice and Smoked Turkey Chowder (amazingly good and healthy!) but it’s just not the same as a Classic Wild Rice Soup in the Instant Pot, now is it? (As a quick aside, I will be posting recipes that aren’t Instant Pot and aren’t soup, it’s just been a crazy Holiday week, so if you don’t have an “IP” please bear with me!)
I love me a good Broccoli Cheese Soup. I love it even more when it’s start to finish, 15 minute Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup, piping hot and on the table in no time at all. And I love it even better, when it’s made with real Cheddar for that flavor punch.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so I decided to make a Shortcut Pho Ga, Vietnamese Chicken Soup. And now, I’m sure you’re wondering “What on this side of heaven does Pho Ga have to do with the Great American Turkey Day?” Ahem. Thanksgiving, that is.
Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup – Pho Ga or Chicken Pho, shortcut version
Oh, but I do love me some soup. Especially in the fall. And since I had some sausage left after making Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup in the Instant Pot the other day, I thought I’d make more soup, but take it in another direction.
It could very well be that I’m in denial! I am astonished each time it snows! I do live in Minnesota, but really? Snow twice last week and again the other day. But snow to me = soup, so soup it is. Again. 🙂
Smoked Sausage & White Bean Soup, Instant Pot or Stove Top
I have other White Chicken Chili recipes here, so I’m not real sure how I got inspired to make this one…a hint of fall coming, maybe? Yep. I said it. Fall. I’m glad I made this Chili, though, because Easy White Chicken Chili’s seriously delish.
Awhile back, someone mentioned Cabbage Soup – in a rather derogatory way. Funny thing is, I love Cabbage Soup! Which isn’t all cabbage, by the way. There’s lot’s of other good stuff in it, too.
When we’re talking about Vietnamese cuisine in our family, my sis is all about the Pho. A few years back, I posted a phenomenal recipe for Pho Ga, Chicken Pho, just for her and I have a Shortcut Pho Ga Tay on my site, too, that can be made with turkey or chicken. Me, I’m all about the Cà Ri Gà Vietnamese Chicken Curry. I mean really all about it! I crave it!
I don’t know about you, but I love, love, love me some Chicken Tortilla Soup. Or some Turkey Tortilla Soup. Or probably ANY Tortilla Soup. Just put it in front of me and I’ll eat it – no questions asked.
When the idea of a Ramen from my leftover Thanksgiving turkey entered my mind, I couldn’t let it go! Here’s a ramen with a gorgeous broth, beautiful flavor and lots of fun garnishes.
I don’t know when the thought popped in my mind to remake my turkey leftovers into Pozole, but I’m glad it did. And not just any old Pozole but a Green (Verde) Pozole with Turkey. Pozole Verde de Pavo.
Pozole de Pavo Verde (Turkey Pozole) https://frugalhausfrau.com/2016/11/27/green-turkey-pozole-pozole-verde-de-pavo/
If you’ve been following along (Do I sound like a teacher? Class?) you’ve probably seen my most marvelous recipe for Vaguely Vietnamese Slow Cooker Pork Tacos last week. If you haven’t, take a peek, because that recipe is the starter for this Shortcut Pork Ramen. And as good as those tacos were, this spin-off recipe is even better.
There’s nothing that says the end of summer more (except maybe of a glut of tomatoes – have you seen all my tomato posts, lol!) than the end of Sweet Corn season. It’s a sad day when the abundance of corn withers away to a dribble, then there’s nothing left but a few lonely ears in the bottom of the huge boxes that stand in so many produce departments.
I love love love French Onion Soup! It’s a beautiful thing. For St. Patrick’s day, though, I have been dying to try out one of the Guinness Onion Soups I’ve seen floating around. How could I resist, really? Caramelized onions, toasty melty cheese!
If you’re from the Midwest, you might be familiar with Minerva’s. There’s one not far from my hometown in Iowa and there’s one not too far from my folk’s in South Dakota. Although they’ve expanded over the years, don’t mistake this for your average chain – it is THE place to wine and dine someone! I was lucky enough to go there for my birthday dinner last month.
Have I ever told you how much I love soup? Take a look at my Soup Menu and it will give you an idea! So when I find an outstanding new soup, you bet I’m going to share it with you. Here it is, my sister’s Ham & Potato Chowder. It’s a bowl of comfort, perfect for a winter day!
