Where Bloggers Live: Favorite Fast and Easy Fall Soup Recipe

Welcome back to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live! I am lucky to have joined a terrific group of bloggers who give a peek into the places and spaces where they spend their time.

Today's topic is Favorite Recipes...and I tell ya, this is a hard one for me because I don't like cooking, neither does my husband, and we are both currently in a never want to cook ever again mode. But we need to eat, and prepared foods rarely taste great, and we're not doing take-out or restaurants these days, so cooking is definitely on the agenda! So we're relying on easy recipes these days to keep us going.

For fall, an easy soup recipe is such a great stand-by. Warm, comforting, a nice balance of protein/starch/veg, and reheats well. My favorite is this soup from a recipe I got from my mom at least 25 years ago. It's like a potato soup + bean soup in one! It cooks up really fast, too.

U. S. Senate Special Session Bean Soup

8 ounces turkey smoked sausage, cut into ½ inch slices

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced celery

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon vegetable oil [I use olive oil]

1 ½ quarts reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups cubed, peeled sweet potatoes

2 cups cubed, peeled baking potatoes

1 can (15 ounces) Navy beans, rinsed, drained

1 can (15 ounces) Pinto beans, rinsed, drained

1 can (15 ounces) Black beans, rinsed, drained

¾ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1. Sauté smoked sausage, onion, celery and garlic in oil in Dutch oven until sausage is browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add remaining ingredients and heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings (about 1 ½ cups each)

Nutrient Information Per Serving:

Calories 307

Fat 6 g

% Calories from Fat 18

Potassium 726 mg

Carbohydrate 44 g

Folate 160 mcg

Sodium 1288 (based on recipe calling for 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons salt)

Calcium 88 mg

Protein 20 g

Dietary Fiber 9 g

Cholesterol 36 mg

I add freshly ground black pepper to the top when I reheat it in the microwave. My favorite way to eat this soup is with a side of crackers and cheese to add some crunch to go with the softness of the soup.

I found this recipe online here.

I should note that this is NOT the original Senate Bean Soup that is made from dried navy beans and ham hocks and served in the US Senate dining room! It's one of the many, many variants on the concept. Note that this recipe is called the "special session" bean soup...which I don't think is actually a thing in the US Senate. (I mean, there is such a thing as a special session, but I don't think they serve a soup specifically during that time.) But whether the session is special or not, I do think this bean soup recipe is!

And color-wise, doesn't the soup even resemble fall?

Peak Fall Color - St Paul, MN

Also resembling fall is this OOTD from the beginning of this month. I put together my woodland critters T and rust pants for one of the surprisingly warm days (high of 69 F) we've had this month. This top was one I had previously identified as one of my favorite/loved items to prioritize wearing this fall. The top doesn't have rust in it, but the rust works well with all the autumnal tones and provides a pop of color in the outfit. I wore the matching woodland critter scarf as a headband.

OOTD 11/2/22

I had a lot of fun with this layered necklace: sloth pendant + DIY paperboard pendant (tutorial here) + gold illusion necklace + mixed metal chain necklace.

My daily bracelet stack is all DIY pieces except for the agate/rabbit charm bracelet that was a gift from my husband. The light rust paper tube beads (tutorial here), dark green striped paper bicone beads (tutorial here), and mixed stone bead bracelet were made to coordinate with this top. I added in the mixed metal spacer bead bracelet to help blend the silver rabbit with the gold pieces.

Thanks for joining me in sharing my simple-but-delicious soup recipe and some other fall-related photos. Next month's topic is Jewelry. Well! That one is definitely more in my wheelhouse than recipes.

In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers as they share about their favorite recipes:

Bettye at Fashion Schlub

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks

Em at Dust and Doghair

Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings

Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style

Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After

Are there any other reluctant chefs out there? (If I start a cooking blog, Reluctant Chef is a contender for the name.) Or are you enthusiastic about cooking?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.