Recipe: Sausage & Kale Soup

Tonight we had a modified version of this Cooking Light recipe. It took 25 minutes from start to finish, and everyone loved it.

Changes we made to the original recipe:

• doubled the recipe
• used spicy sausage instead of sweet
• used dried herbs (cheaper and more convenient)
• chopped the onion & garlic myself (it takes 5 extra minutes & tastes much better. At least chop your own garlic, that bottled minced stuff is vile)
• used kale instead of spinach (the spinach can get slimy, while the kale provides a nice crunch)

Ingredients

1 (20 oz) pack spicy turkey Italian sausage
Dash olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup water
2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (32 oz) box fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
4 cups kale (stems removed)
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan  over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble (optional: add dash of olive oil to pan to prevent sticking). Add onion and garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, then cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Stir in kale, basil, and oregano, and reserve on low heat until ready to serve.