Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup - Hail to Kale!

Hail to Kale!

Kale has many nutritional health benefits, here are a few of them:

• High in fiber
• Excellent source of Vitamin A and calcium
• One of the best sources of beta carotene (an antioxidant believed to be a major player in battle against cancer & heart disease)
• Good source of Caroteniods - specifically lutein and zeaxanthin which protect the eyes against cataracts and macular degeneration

We love soup at our house and since the weather is nice in the evenings and early mornings it does kind of feel like fall. The leaves are beginning to change around our "neck of the woods". I made this for Ryan's Lunch this week. Planning ahead for lunch helps to save money that would otherwise be spent on a less-healthy restaurant lunch. I whipped up this soup last night while we were watching "Boardwalk Empire". Then sent it with Ryan this am with a nice green salad with fresh peppers and Italian Dressing to go along with it.

Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup

(recipe from For the Love of Cooking )

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4 all natural italian chicken sausages (spicy), meat removed from casings
• 1/2 organic onion, diced
• 3 to 4 organic carrots, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3/4 tsp basil
• 1 tsp tuscan sunset (Penzeys)
• 1 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup of pasta, any pasta is ok, but the smaller the size the better OR if you prefer beans then use 1 can canelloni beans
• 2 1/2 cups organic Kale - cut the ribs from the leaves and then chop into small pieces
• Parmesan cheese - topping right before serving

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage, onion, and carrots. Season with all the spices and salt/pepper to taste. Saute for 4 -5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the veggies are becoming tender. Add the garlic, stir constantly for 30 seconds (make sure that your garlic doesn't burn). Then add the tomatoes and chicken broth - cook for 30 minutes (i.e. watch television or clean up the mess you made in kitchen!).

After 30 minutes, add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped kale and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Scoop the soup into a big bowl and top with parmesan cheese.

This is super yummy and healthy. And remember that Kale offers MANY health benefits.

I will be back later this week for a vegetarian soup with Kale as the star ingredient!