Recipe Review - Favorite Red Soups for Fall

Autumn Equinox. It's officially fall. I love fall. Just to be clear, I'm not fond of what follows, but the aromas, colors, and activities this time of year cannot be beat. We made a couple of our favorite red soups over the weekend, and prepared some upcoming fall themed crafts that should be a lot of fun for the coming weeks. Hopefully, you can enjoy one or both of these soups sometime in your Autumn celebrations too.

Triple Red Soup 

Ingredients - 1 red pepper, (chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1 clove garlic (crushed), 2 Tbsp olive oil, 14oz can diced tomatoes, 4c vegetable stock, 6 Tbsp quick cooking long grain rice, 2 Tbsp Worcestershire, 14oz can kidney beans (rinsed,drained), 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp sugar, salt, pepper, parsley & shredded cheddar to serve

Heat pepper, onion, and garlic in oil; cover & cook 5 minutes on low. Add all remaining ingredients, other than parsley and cheddar. Bring to boil. Stir and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cheddar. Serve w/ crusty bread!

Italian Cheese Ravioli Stew 

Ingredients - 2c chopped carrots, 1c chopped onion, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 - 15oz cans vegetable broth, 2 - 15 oz Italian diced tomatoes, 1 - 15oz can Cannelloni beans (rinsed/drained), 2 tsp dry basil, 10oz refrigerated cheese ravioli

Heat olive oil, and saute carrots and onion for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the ravioli. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Return to boil Add ravioli, and cook the additional time to cook the ravioli, typically 7-9 minutes. You can also make this in the slow cooker on low for ~6 hours, but eliminate the oil. Increase heat to high, and add ravioli. Cook additional 8 minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese and garlic toast.