Hi-Ya !
It's official.... Soup Season is in full effect !
It has gotten to the point that I have to defrost my car before I can pull out of my driveway because of the thin ice covering my windshield and all other windows for that matter. That was my #1 indicator that it was time to pull out my dutch oven pot and cook some Soups !
I love making soups and eating them. My two cents on soups is that you can add your favorite ingredients and call it soup. You have some leftover rotisserie chicken ? Remove the skin, cut it up and its an ingredient in a soup. You have have a stalk of celery on its last leg? chop it up and you have yourself yet another ingredient to a pot of soup. So, lets clean house (the refrigerator) and make a homemade pot of soup !
Here are some of my favorite reasons for making/eating a bowl full of liquid heaven:
- Its a one pot wonder meal
- It's perfect on a cold day/night
- It can be MEATLESS
- It's the BEST meal planning meal EVER, huh ? Yea, that''s right !
- You control the sodium input
- You can pair a bowl of soup with a salad or sandwich
- It's very economical to make
- Freezable
- A healthy soup promotes weight loss
Here are few key ingredients.......
Ground Italian sausage rolled into bite-size meatballs and browned to perfection
Kale (yep, I went the bagged way, but hey, it organic)
and....your favorite white bean
Ingredients (Inspired by PopSugar)
Serves: 4 hearty bowls or 6 smaller bowls
1 lb of ground hot Italian sausage
2 cans (14.5 oz) of white beans, rinsed and drained (Navy, Cannellini or great Northern beans)
1 10 oz bag of organic kale ( I typically go with Trader Joe's Organic Tuscan Kale)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup of chopped celery
2 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
5 cups of low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
Salt to season
Shake or two of red pepper flakes
Shredded Parmesan cheese (garnish)
Instructions
1. Roll the ground Italian sausage in bite size meatballs.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO to a nonstick skillet and brown the meatballs over medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO to a dutch oven pot and add the onions, celery, pinch of salt, carrots and cook until the veggies begins to soften about 5 minutes or so. Stir in tomato paste, garlic and fennel seeds and cook approximately 1 minute, being sure not to burn garlic.
4. Add the stock and bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add Kale and cook for about 1 minute and then add beans and cooked Italian sausage meatballs. Season with salt and red pepper flakes and cover with lid.
5. Spoon soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
*Side Note*
- You can substitute the Italian sausage with cubed chicken breast or ground chicken rolled into meatballs.
- If you prefer a milder soup swap out the hot Italian sausage with mild sausage.
- You have options with the cheese garnish. One of my other cheese choice is: Shredded Gruyere
- This soup taste GREAT the next day and it freezes well.
