The Original Brat Hans®: Baked potato natural chicken sausage soup

The good folks over at Original Brat Hans sausages sent me some samples so I could try this delicious soup for myself. I am a huge potato soup fan, but had never even tasted a chicken sausage. I was telling my neighbor about them, and she told me sausage doesn't come from chickens, duh! But, these sausages are fantastic. We used some in the soup, cooked some on the grill, and even made a spicy pasta with them. They have a wonderful flavor and were great in every dish we used them in. I highly suggest checking them out!

This soup is great on a chilly day. My family raved about it! Before you go shopping for the ingredients, visit this link for a dollar off coupon!



1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

3 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 14-oz. can of evaporated milk

2-3 baking potatoes, baked or microwaved

2-4 links of Original Brat Hans' natural chicken sausage (any flavor you'd like), sliced

1/2 cup of shreed asiago, chedder, or Swiss cheese

3 Tbsp. green onion, sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk. Scoop potato pulp from one potato and mash. Add pulp to broth mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just comes to a boil. Dice remaining potatoes, with skin. Add the sausage and potatoes to soup. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Top off each individual bowl with sliced green onion and cheese.

Ramblings of a Texas Housewife Product Review and/or Giveaway Disclosure- I have received no compensation other than the offer of free product to review and/or giveaway. Any opinions expressed on Ramblings of a Texas Housewife are my own. My reviews are never reviewed or edited in any way by sponsors.

Celebrate America Airs Tonight!

Photo Credit: Kim Ritzenthaler

I wanted to share with y'all about Celebrate America, a wonderful special featuring some amazing Texas high school choirs. It airs tonight at 7:00. Tune in to listen to some beautiful music. It is great family viewing! My little cousin Katie is one of the talented students singing tonight, so we will definitely be watching.

NORTH TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL CHOIRS FEATURED IN KERA-TV SPECIAL

CELEBRATE AMERICA AIRS MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010

DALLAS/FORT WORTH: High school choirs from across North Texas will be featured in the new public television special Celebrate America, produced by internationally-renowned composer Tim Janis. Celebrate America with Tim Janis airs at 7:00 p.m. Monday, March 15 on KERA-TV. The program was recorded at the KERA-TV Studios in October 2009.

Celebrate America features some 500 students from 14 North Texas high school music programs. Tim Janis and his staff selected the participating choirs and provided each group with a musical composition for rehearsal prior to the taping. The following North Texas high school choirs are featured in Celebrate America:

Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) Trinity High School (Euless)

Duncanville High School Grapevine High School

L.D. Bell High School (Hurst) Dunbar High School (Fort Worth)

Arlington Heights High School (Fort Worth) Paschal High School (Fort Worth)

O. D. Wyatt High School (Fort Worth) Southwest High School (Fort Worth)

W.T. White High School (Dallas) Arlington High School

Western Hills High School (Fort Worth) Fort Worth ISD High School Honor Choir

Celebrate America was created by Janis to spotlight our nation’s youth and bring communities together in a celebration of music that uplifts and inspires. “I believe the fabric of our nation is the strength found in our local communities,” said Janis. “We need to stay connected and committed with a spirit of serving one another to the best of our abilities.”

For many of the students, participating in the program was a life-changing experience. Student Andrew Lopez said, “It showed me that hard work and dedication pay off.” Student Dustin Buller said, “It is an honor and privilege to participate in this experience, celebrating our pride as Americans.”

ABOUT TIM JANIS

With millions of albums sold, five national public television specials, and 10 Billboard charting CDs, composer Tim Janis has worked with some of the top artists in the music and entertainment business -- from Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles, to George Clooney and James Earl Jones. Musician, conductor and arranger, Janis’ story is one of deep belief in the power of creating music that can heal and bring peace on a global level. His music has traveled to from New York City to Africa, China and Eastern Europe. With millions of listeners and thousands of testimonies Tim continues to bring to the world a universal message of hope and peace.

ABOUT KERA

KERA is a not-for-profit public media organization that serves the people of North Texas. The station broadcasts to the fourth-largest population area in the United States. KERA produces original multimedia content, carries the best in national and international public television and radio programs, and provides online resources at www.kera.org. The station’s extensive coverage of the arts can be found at www.artandseek.org. KERA-TV broadcasts on Channel 13.1. KERA WORLD broadcasts on 13.2. KERA-FM broadcasts on 90.1 in Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton, 88.3 in Wichita Falls, 100.1 in Tyler and 99.3 in Sherman. KXT 91.7 FM, KERA’s new music station, is streamed online at www.kxt.org.

Kroger Cartbuster Savings Event & Giveaway

I am so excited that Kroger is having a Cartbuster Savings Event! It's a great time to take advantage of savings on some of your favorite brands like Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Yoplait, Progresso, Totino´s, Green Giant, and more! If you are a regular reader, you know I'm quite fond of Kroger normally. But, when they have a great event like this, well I just love this store.


The Kroger Family of Stores and General Mills, through MyBlog Spark have provided me with a $25 gift card to grab some of these awesome savings for my family. I plan to hit the store tomorrow, with my coupon binder in hand. I can't wait to see what deals I can find!

Even better, they are giving one of my lucky readers a $25 gift card to enjoy. To win, simply tell me what products you'd most like to stock up on while the prices are low.

Bonus Entries:

*Follow on Networked Blogs. This is worth 5 entries, so leave 5 comments.


* Subscribe to my blog.


* Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect.


* Follow me on Twitter & tweet this giveaway.


* Blog about this giveaway. It doesn't have to be a whole post, you can just mention it when you are posting about other giveaways if you wish. Just be sure to include a link back to here.

Be sure you leave me a way to contact you if you win. Deadline to enter is 3/19/10 at 8:00 pm CST.

Ramblings of a Texas Housewife Product Review and/or Giveaway Disclosure- I have received no compensation other than the offer of free product to review and/or giveaway. Any opinions expressed on Ramblings of a Texas Housewife are my own. My reviews are never reviewed or edited in any way by sponsors. Thanks to the Kroger Family of Stores, General Mills, and MyBlogSpark for providing the information and gift cards for this post and giveaway.

Southland on TNT

I just wanted to let you know that Southland's second season premieres tomorrow night on TNT. I love police dramas and this one looks to be a winner. I like that there are strong female characters as well as male. I love a good, solid female police detective. So, check it out and let me know what you think!