SPINACH, KALE, AND SAUSAGE SOUP

Yum, soup!  Good tasting soup, in a flavorful broth. Fresh vegetables, great seasonings, delicious and wholesome flavours!!! For protein, I added chicken broth and low-fat turkey sausage. Very easy and quick to make.

Feel free to play around with the spinach/kale combination. You can use only spinach, which will give you a light and delicate green taste, or decide to mix the two vegetables with portions of each according to preference. 

Let's make spinach and sausage soup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
about 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into bite-size chunks
5 cups of chicken broth 
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 pound low-fat sausage 
2 cups spinach, washed well, roughly chopped, thick stems removed
2 cups kale, washed well, chopped, stems removed

fresh sage and thyme 

a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the potatoes, the broth, the garbanzo beans and the fresh herbs.  
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 
• Meanwhile, remove the sausage from its casing, then crumble it and brown it in a skillet.  Drain as much fat as you can and set the sausage aside.  
• When the vegetables are tender, add spinach, kale, sausage, salt and pepper to taste and top off with a squeeze of lemon juice. Bring back up to a simmer, and let cook for another five minutes before serving.