Italian Winter Soup

OK. I live in California. At the very worst, I can put a light jacket on and stay warm. But I'm going to go ahead and complain about how cold I get anyway. It's been in the 60's for days and days here in CA and that's not particularly toasty. For wimps like me and people who actually deal with Winter weather, I bring you a hearty and nutritious soup.

White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup
Serves 6


Ingredients

• One package sweet italian chicken sausage
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 can white kidney (canellini) beans, with juice
• 1 head kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat
• Squeeze sausage out of casings into pot and crumble
• Add garlic and red pepper flakes
• Cook until browned and crispy
• Reduce heat to medium, add stock and beans
• Simmer for 10 minutes, making sure to scrape up all meaty bits
• When almost ready to serve, dump in kale and stir
• Serve with grated romano and hot crusty bread

with stem

without stem!

If you haven't had kale, you are missing out. It's all the rage right now as a super food. Trader Joe's unfortunately doesn't carry it fresh, but you can find it in some of the pre-made salads. Kale is an excellent source of fiber and an antioxidant. It has crazy huge amounts of Vitamin K, which assists in blood clotting and has also been linked to increased bone density. Vitamin A is great for your eyesight, skin cells, immune system, and bone health, too.  Another great way to enjoy kale is as kale chips - just bake seasoned kale in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Delish!

This soup is delicious, nutritious, and will warm your cold winter bones!