Kale & Potato Soup

Yum! I love this soup.
A few months ago, our good friends had us over for dinner and served this delicious soup.
I had never tried kale before and was immediately hooked.
Kale is incredibly nutritious and an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K.
This soup is easy to make, very affordable, fresh and (did i mention) DELICIOUS.

So, here is my first recipe of many to share with you!

Kale and Potato Soup
Adapted from recipe at Passionate Homemaking

What you'll need:

1/2 bacon
1/2 lb chicken Italian sausage or any sausage of your choice
4-6 potatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken stock (or water added to 4-5 cups stock)
2 cups whole milk, half & half, or cream (I use 1% milk mixed with cream)
5-6 leaves of kale, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Before we start, I have a few notes:
- the ingredients in the picture don't exactly match the original recipe I am providing because I cut the recipe in half, which is enough for two with lots of left overs. The original serves 6-8.
- bacon! bacon is a great addition to this soup. this was my first time not using bacon, so it is not pictured but I will give cooking instructions as if it is left in because it's great in this soup.
- sausage- original recipe calls for fresh sausage you can crumble while you cook. tonight, i went with Aidells all-natural smoked chicken sausage, so i just sliced and tossed them in.

Alright, back to cookin'


Cook the bacon however you like to. Cool, chop, set aside for later.
I like to bake mine:
- place bacon strips on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil. bake in non-preheated oven at 400F. take bacon out at desired crispness... 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook onions, sausage, and garlic until sausage is browned. You can use the bacon grease, oil, or like I did tonight, butter (shame on me, i know.. i am out of olive oil)


Add potatoes* and stock and bring to a boil.
*I usually use yukon spuds, but tonight went with red.
Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 mins, until the potatoes are tender.


Add bacon, kale and milk. Cook for about 5-10 mins.
Season to taste with salt and pepper (and sometimes I add a little garlic powder)
It may look like a lot of kale at first but it cooks down to look something like this...

Bon Appetit!