Tagessuppe

It cracks me up whenever the temperature here in Florida drops below the mid 60's--people start to freak out! When it happens, it usually is the lead story of the evening news..."major cold front" on its way! Ha! Being from the Midwest, I get extremely excited when I can put on a long sleeve shirt without sweating when I go outside...so anyway...I was inspired to make soup for 3 reasons:

1. It's actually "cold" out...by Florida standards ;)

2. A good friend of mine gave me a "German sentence of the day" calendar for my birthday...and this was today's sentence (just in case you wanted a quick German lesson)
Was haben Sie fuer die Tagessuppe? Translated means, What is the soup of the day?
For some strange reason it made me hungry for soup...

3. I'm trying to be a better neighbor and friend. Last night our pastor started a series called "Bowling Alone". He discussed how there is a friendship crisis in American culture, how we are radically disconnected with the people around us...even our neighbors. So I felt challenged to do something and realized how easy is it to double your batch of soup, make some biscuits, and share with a friend. So that's what I did. Agnes, our neighbor and friend, was thankful. Pretty easy and yummy too. Below is the recipe...

Sausage Tortellini Soup

1/2 lb. bulk sausage (any kind you like would do)
1/2 chopped onion
1c. sliced carrots (I used canned)
1 (28oz) can Progresso tomato puree
1 (14 1/2oz) chicken broth
2c water
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (9oz) pkg refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
3c frozen cut broccoli

In a Dutch oven, fry up sausage and onion until cooked. Drain. Add carrots; (I used canned to make it easier) tomato puree, broth, water and basil. Bring to a boil. Add tortellini; return to a boil. Add broccoli. Cook 6-8 min. or until tortellini are tender.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2c Bisquick
3/4c buttermilk
1c cheddar cheese
2-3T melted butter
1/4t garlic powder
1/4t dried parsley

Combine Bisquick, buttermilk and cheese until lumpy. Spoon onto cookie sheet and sort of flatten out with your fingers. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Mix butter, garlic powder and parsley together...when biscuits come out of the oven, brush immediately with the butter mixture.