White Bean, Sausage, and Kale Soup

This is a recipe that was recently posted by Edesiasnotebook.com, one of my favorite food blogs that I follow.  The recipe sounded quick, easy, and tasty...the top three things I go for in a recipe!!  As with her, it was my first time cooking with kale and therefore my first time shopping for kale in the produce department of the grocery store.  I had no idea there was such a thing as red kale, well not until I bought the green one and then read the recipe a little closer! So that is where one of my minor changes came about.  Red vs. Green...big deal??? I have no idea being that this was also my first time even eating kale!! My second minor change was adding red pepper flakes to the soup after plating.  It gave nice color and a nice little kick! (If you've been following my blog closely, you may have caught on by now that the hubby and I like a little kick in our dishes!)

INGREDIENTS:
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic (I used 3)
1 lb. bulk italian sausage
2 cans white beans, one drained and rinsed, the other not
4 C reduced sodium chicken broth
6 C red kale, chopped (or green!)
red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:
Over Medium heat, heat olive oil in a large pot.  Saute the onion and garlic until the onion starts to soften.  Next, add the sausage to the pot and break into chunks.  If needed, drain excess grease.  Add the remaining ingredients and  bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until kale is softened.

recipe adapted from edesiasnotebook.com