Turkey Sausage and Kale soup

I love the Fall season. Everything is crisp and cool outdoors and leaves begin to change. I love the warm candles burning in my home, filling every nook and cranny with a wonderful cinnamon smell. But I of course love this season because I get to make all my favorite soups. Starting with this one, my turkey sausage and kale soup.

It is so tasty. Every time I make this soup I find myself tweaking and changing a little ingredient here and there, or adding something new to the pot. I made this soup just yesterday and here is what I came up with:

                                                   

Turkey sausage and kale soup:

1lb. lean ground turkey sausage
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 medium size onion, small diced
3 stalks celery, with leaves, small chop
3 large carrots chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
olive oil to coat the pan
1 bay leaf
1T. italian seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic
2 large boxes of favorite chicken stock. Broth is ok, but stock really has a greater flavor.
3-4 smallish red or yukon gold potatoes. not peeled. Diced in 1 inch pieces
1 bunch of Italian kale. regular kale is just great if you can't find italian. I find the Italian Kale holds up fabulously and doesn't get mushy. Washed and then remove the stem from the kale leaves. You can do this by cutting around each stem. But I find the quick and easy way to do it is grab the bottom of the stem between your first and second finger and hold onto the leaf and pull all the way down till it naturally comes off. Slice the kale into thin strips.
1 small box of dried cheese tortellini, frozen works well too.
2c. of whole milk, 1/2 &1/2, or 1c. cream
1c. heated through marinara sauce
1c. mozzerella/Parmesan cheese mix

Start by heating up a large pot over medium-med. high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of good olive oil to the pan and break the sausage into pieces into the pot. Cook the sausage till browned and cooked through. Then add in the onion, carrot, and celery. Let them saute for several minutes till translucent. Add in the salt and pepper along with the bay leaf, seasoning, and minced garlic. You add the garlic now and not before so you don't burn the garlic. Me no likey burned garlic. As my son says, "dats bleh mom!"

As the ingredients develop their full flavor, get your chicken stock ready. Then add the stock to the pot, turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 2 hours. Then add your potatoes and let simmer on low for another hour, till tender.

Now you are ready for that healthy and delicious kale! Haha. Kale, it's good stuff, amiright? Even my kids ate it. I didn't even have to force them! And then grab your tortellini. You will cook these two last ingredients together in the pot because they take about the same amount of time. If it's dried tortellini it will be about 11-14 min. Once this is done add in your milk or cream to the soup. Stir and you are ready to serve it up!

Heat through some marinara sauce on the stove in a separate small sauce pot. Add a little bit of that extra italian seasoning to it too! Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl. Serve each bowl of soup with a spoonful of the sauce and a sprinkle of the cheese.

There you have it! Delicious and somewhat healthy fall soup. The little addition of milk or cream gives the illusion that it's a rich soup, but the majority of it is broth! You can add or subtract any of the veggies you want/don't want. I love throwing in some zucchini or broccoli. But don't add them till you do the kale/tortellini otherwise it will be mushy. Mushy me no likey!

I hope you all enjoy this wonderful Fall season. I know I will!