Warm, hearty, and comforting Smoked Sausage and Pork Soup…lightened up! (But you wouldn’t even know it!)
I’m a bit of a slacker, I just went Christmas shopping for the first time yesterday..do you start early or are you a last minute shopper? Usually I try to get an idea of what I wanted to get everyone so I know what to look for, but this year Im pretty much just seeing and buying..not as smart, but my time is limited.
The hardest part of not knowing what I’m going out there for, is I always find things for ME! And it’s Christmas, so I buy them, or in the case all day yesterday, my mom bought them for me..Christmas shopping at its finest folks! Id much rather pick my presents anyways 😉 (Sometimes)
This time of year, if I’m not eating cookies, I’m generally eating hearty, comforting dinners or lots of soup. Both are perfect in my book! I have been wanting to try this soup since last Fall and just never found the time last year. This year however, I finally made it and it was even better than expected.
It made my house smell sooooo good, and it tasted even better. Smoked paprika is one of my favorite spices, and paired with the smoked sausage and pork..it was absolute perfection. I used turkey bacon and turkey sausage to reallly lighten this up, but you could use full-fat bacon and sausage and it would still be pretty healthy and taste just as incredible!
Warm, hearty, and comforting Smoked Sausage and Pork Soup...lightened up! (But you wouldn't even know it!)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Extra Light Olive Oil
- 3 slices turkey bacon, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 pound pork loin roast, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes
- 7 ounces Smoked Turkey Sausage, sliced in 1/4" inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2-15 ounce Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 2-15 ounce Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh Parsley (optional)
Directions
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add half the olive oil and heat until shimmering.
- Add the bacon and cook until the edges are crisp. (Turkey bacon is will get crispy but not AS crispy as full-fat bacon..which you can definitely use if you're not a fan of Turkey bacon)
- Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion, thyme, rosemary, and minced garlic. Saute for three minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan to a plate.
- Heat the pan back up to medium-high, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, and add the cubed pork loin.
- Cook the pork loin 2-3 minutes before adding the sliced turkey sausage.
- Sprinkle in the smoked paprika, toss the meat, and cook through, tossing around occasionally, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the bacon and onion mix back to the pan with the meat
- Add the Tomatoes, beans, beef broth and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil for one minute.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, and cover for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- (Optional) Serve with a toasted baguette and sprinkle of fresh Parsley
Adapted From Cooking Light