Pumpkin Soup with (Turkey) Italian Sausage

I have officially made the best pumpkin soup!  I've never had another pumpkin soup, but this one is sooo incredibly delicious, I'm sure it's the best!  Problem is, we ate it all up before I had a chance to shoot a photo of it.  I intended to make the soup again today because I need pictures it was so delicious, but with the recent pumpkin shortage, I'm having a hard time find more pie pumpkins!  Luckily this recipe was adapted from A Mom Not a Pro, so here is a picture of her soup.  Mine looked identical, though the ingredients and methods were slightly altered by yours truly.

Pumpkin Soup with Turkey Italian Sausage (SOURCE)

I kid you not, this soup is fantastic.  I was shared this recipe with a friend and her husband; he loved it so much he said that if I opened a soup kitchen, he'd eat there every day (he's also had my homemade chicken noodle soup, which is coming soon).  Open a soup kitchen?  Gladly!!  Just provide the financial backing and the health insurance to replace my current job and I'M ON IT!  No seriously, someone please pay me to cook all day Just kidding!!

Here's what you'll need:

Pumpkin Soup with (Turkey) Italian Sausage

1 3-pound Pie Pumpkin

Yellow Onion

Carrots

1 Golden Delicious Apple

Dried Sage

Flour

Honey

Nutmeg

Chicken Stock

Buttermilk

Fresh Romano cheese

Turkey Italian Sausage

Salt & Pepper

PRINTABLE RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS!!

In the printable recipe you'll see that I have suggested using Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage, casing removed.  I chose this because it's healthier than regular pork sausage, but also because the seasonings in the sausage transfer to the soup very well, providing a lot of heat and flavor.  In hindsight, the soup was also probably thick enough to omit the flour and milk to save calories.  So, use your best judgment when making this.
I was also surprised how hard it was to cut through the pie pumpkin, so if you have your mister around, take full advantage of his muscles if he is handy in the kitchen.

Happy Sunday Funday!!