Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, and Kielbasa Soup

Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, and Kielbasa Soup is a little taste of Oktoberfest you can have anytime of the year! The addition of Hillshire Farm® Kielbasa takes a simple potato cheddar soup to a whole new taste level!

 

With both my husband and I being of Eastern European decent, one of the events that we like to attend every year is our local Oktoberfest. 

Cleveland has a wonderful annual Oktoberfest event full of beer, great food and entertainment. It's something we both look forward to every year! 

Who doesn't love a cold beer when you are listening to a German Oompah Band?   

But why enjoy those Oktoberfest flavors only once a year?

I made this tasty potato soup last week, because I was thinking about all those great Old World Oktoberfest flavors I enjoyed at the festival last month.  Adding kielbasa and cheddar really elevates this soup in the flavor department and makes it a hearty choice for the colder weather months. 

Hillshire Farm® Rope Sausage is a regular item on my shopping trips.  We love them because they are full of the flavors that we both grew up with.  I've used the Hillshire Farm® Rope Sausage in all sorts of recipes through the years like in this Smoked Sausage and Pepper Pasta Skillet.  

It adds so much flavor to recipes, but it is also a convenient choice for a quick dinner making them the perfect sausage to celebrate Oktoberfest and beyond!  

This soup is easy to make and get on your table even on a weeknight. If you don't own an immersion blender (but why wouldn't you?  They are awesome!) you can blend half of it up in a blender or go old school and use a potato masher.  

Garnished with a little dollop of sour cream and some fresh thyme, it not only tastes great but looks pretty too! 

Lemon cupcakes, lemon cupcake recipe, lemon cupcakes from scratch

Dessert, cakes

American

Yield: 24 servings

Author: Renee Paj

Easy Homemade Lemon Cupcakes

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Easy to make, homemade lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting are the perfect lemon treat for any time of the day!

Ingredients

for lemon cupcakes:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 TBSP finely grated lemon zest ( approx. 2 lemons)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp. pure lemon extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

for lemon buttercream frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tsp. pure lemon extract
• 2 TBSP to 1/4 cup half and half, enough to make frosting spreadable

Instructions

How to make lemon cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two regular sized muffin pans with paper liners. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
3. In a small mixing bowl or 4 cup measure, whisk buttermilk, oil, lemon juice, lemon extract, and eggs until well combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until JUST COMBINED. Do not overmix! Over mixing will create gluten and your cupcakes will be less tender.
5. Put about 1/3 cup of batter into each paper lined well of each muffin tin. You should have enough batter to make approximately 24 cupcakes. If you don't quite make 24, remove the liner(s) that aren't getting used and fill halfway with a little water. (This will help all the cupcakes cook evenly.)
6. Bake in preheated oven for approx. 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Frost when completely cooled.

How to make lemon buttercream frosting:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and salt with an electric mixer.
2. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Mix in the lemon extract and add enough half and half to make the frosting spreadable starting with 2 TBSP and increasing as needed. Mix until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread on completely cooled cupcakes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

302.30

Fat (grams)

18.32 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.05 g

Carbs (grams)

32.81 g

Fiber (grams)

0.41 g

Net carbs

32.40 g

Sugar (grams)

23.31 g

Protein (grams)

2.79 g

Sodium (milligrams)

170.74 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

52.63 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate

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