Smoked Sausage Chowder by Beth

Ingredients:
1 lb. fully cooked smoked sausage, thinly sliced and halved
1 med. onion, chopped
4 c. potatoes, diced
2 lg. carrots, sliced
1/4 c. butter
3 c. water
2 tsp. parsley
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
8 oz. half and half
Assembly:
In large stockpot, brown the sausage and onion with the butter.  Add potatoes, carrots, and water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 min or until potatoes are tender.  Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.  Cool.  Pour into gallon freezer bag.  Lay flat to freeze.
Serving Day:
Thaw in fridge.  Heat on stovetop until heated through. 

Maple Sausage Breakfast Casserole by Beth

Ingredients:
12 slices of bread (or 8 pack of hamburger/hot dog buns)
1 lb. maple flavored pork sausage
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
9 eggs, divided
milk
1 tsp. salt
dash pepper

Assembly:
Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Brown sausage, drain well.
Place 6 slices of bread (or 1/2 the package of buns torn into pieces) on bottom of pan.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the sausage and 1/2 of the cheese on top. Repeat the layers of bread, sausage, and cheese.
In measuring bowl, add 3 eggs.
Pour enough milk into measuring bowl (with eggs) to equal 3c. Add remaining 6 eggs and seasonings.
Whisk together until smooth.
Pour egg mixture evenly over top of casserole.
Cover and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely in refrigerator.  Place in casserole in COLD
oven; turn oven to 350.  Bake 45-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder by Wendy

Ingredients:
4 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped carrots
2 stalks celery
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 cups chicken broth
4 large potatoes
1 pkg. (12 oz) Polish sausage (or chicken)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup water
1 1/3 cup milk
4 cups chopped broccoli
2 cups shredded cheese

Assembly:
Saute in butter-onions, carrots, celery until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flout with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk, broccoli and cook until broccoli is tender and soup is heated through, about 30-45 min.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt and serve or cool and freeze in gallon Ziploc bags.

To Serve from Frozen:
Thaw bag and reheat until hot.

Yield:  8 servings

Sausage Rice Casserole by Wendy

Ingredients:
2 packages (7.2 oz. each) rice pilaf
2 pounds turkey sausage
6 celery ribs, chopped
1 (12oz.) bag frozen carrots, sliced
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Assembly:
1.  Prepare rice mixes according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage, celery and carrots over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture, rice, soups, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper.  Transfer to two greased 11-in x 7-in. baking dishes.

3.  Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months.  Bake other casserole shown below:

Day of Cooking:  Cover and bake the second casserole at 350 degrees for 40-45 min. or until vegetables are tender.

To Use Frozen Casserole:  Thaw in refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake as directed. 

Yield:  2 casseroles (6-8 servings each).

Tuscan Bean Soup by Andrea

Ingredients:
2 lb. Italian Sausage
3 T. garlic olive oil, divided
3 strips thick bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen onion, carrots, celery
64 oz. chicken broth
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 c. water
3 T. tomato paste
1 1/2 heads garlic, chopped
3-4 sprigs fresh Thyme
1 bay leaf
3 cans cannellini beans
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
1/4 c. basil chiffonade
fresh kale

Instructions:

In large Dutch oven, break up and brown sausage in 1 T. olive oil (Squeeze sausage out of casing). Drain. In same pan, cook bacon until crisp, chop.

Saute onion with frozen vegetables in 2 T. olive oil until onions are translucent. Add chicken broth, tomatoes (mashed), water, tomato paste, garlic, thyme and, bay leaf. Simmer 30 minutes.

Next add beans, sausage, bacon, parsley and, basil. Simmer 20-30 more minutes, adjust seasoning and add kale, as desired.

Optional: Top with Croutons: thin sliced Crusty Bread, toasted in oven on both sides till lightly browned then topped with a combo of melted butter and Garlic 00, and good grated Parmesan. Return to oven to melt cheese. Can be held at room temp for several hours.

To Freeze: Prepare to assemble to adding bean, sausage, bacon, etc. Put in freezer bags. Blanch and freeze kale in individual bags to be added to soup later.

Serving Day: Simmer 20-30 minutes. Add kale and heat through.

Hearty Sausage Soup by Katie

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 (1-lb.) pkg. Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage (any variety), diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups celery, sliced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. beef flavor instant bouillon
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. marjoram leaves
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups water
1/2 (1-lb.) pkg. pasta nuggets, uncooked

Assembly:
In large Dutch oven, melt butter. Add Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage and next six ingredients. Cook until sausage is lightly browned. Stir in bouillon and seasonings. Add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Prepare pasta nuggets according to package directions; drain. Stir into soup; heat through. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate leftovers.
(This is a Hillshire Farm recipe.)

Freezing Instructions:
Prepare as above, until directed to add water. Reduce water amount to just one cup. Spoon prepared mixture into a freezer bag, squeeze out all air and freeze. Prepare pasta. (I only cook it about 4 minutes when freezing it.) Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Allow excess water to drain off. Freeze in a separate freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Place soup mixture and 3 cups of water into a Dutch Oven. Bring to a bowl. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Stir pasta into soup; heat through. Enjoy!
(I actually forgot to add the pepper with the seasonings. So feel free to add it to your bowl of soup, if desired.)

Serving size: 6-8 servings