And, I'm back. You see, several weeks ago, I decided to take a couple of days off from blogging. From that moment on, if it wasn't one thing, it was another. Before I knew it, it had been weeks (months, actually) since I had posted anything. And to top it all off, I had one major case of writer's block. Lots of great recipes, but nothing to say about them. And if you know me, you know I'm not usually at a loss for words.

But today, I looked out the window and thought, "Soup day!" And my writer's block was cured. Autumn is finally here, and that means soup weather. And for whatever reason, soup is my favorite thing to make. I had intended to make it really great day and use the slow cooker, but I got busy doing other things and before I knew it, there wasn't time to use the slow cooker. So, this is a stovetop soup day. Now, let me be perfectly honest. When I say autumn, I mean for all you nice people north of the Mason-Dixon. We don't have a real autumn down here in MickeyLand, but it has been overcast today and the wind is blowing, and that, my friends, is the closest we'll probably get to autumn. Don't even get me started on the subject of winter......

So, I decided to try a new soup recipe. I had found a great recipe for Spicy Cajun Sausage and Corn Soup at Deep South Dish, so that was the plan for the day. After it was too late to do something else, I realized I didn't have everything, but no problem, I enjoy improvising. The only thing is, I made so many changes that, with all due respect to Deep South Dish, this isn't the same soup at all. Their recipe does sound good, though, and I recommend that you check it out. I'm still going to try it one of these days. But, here is what turned up at our table.

CAJUN SAUSAGE AND CORN SOUP
inspired by Deep South Dish

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lb. Nathan’s Famous Polish beef kielbasa
1 cup of chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1- 14.5 oz can diced chili ready tomates, undrained
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 can sweet corn
1 can hominy
1 can red kidney beans
4 cups of beef stock
1/4 teaspoon of salt
5 - 7 turns of the pepper grinder
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
1/4 McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun seasoning
1 bay leaf
1/2 c rice

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Chop sausage into bite-size pieces and add to pot, cooking until slightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until tender. Add the tomatoes and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the corn, hominy, beans, and beef stock, boiling for about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, basil, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

Add rice and continue to simmer about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.