White Bean, Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup

Yes, it is early May, but the weather just does not want to warm up fully.  A week of sunny, 75 degree weather followed by one with wet and chilly conditions has been the norm in Washington, DC.  And while I am anxious for summer, I am glad to have a few more weeks to shed some of these winter lbs that have crept up on me -- what happened, ugh!?!?!

But its not all bad news.  The produce is starting to look awesome and I am happier eating lighter things (it's the sweets I need to stay away from!).

Then, on Sunday at brunch with the family after Emma's First Communion mass, Mimi said she's trying a new diet and that one of the recipes was for a good white bean and zucchini soup.  Since I don't have the recipes for this diet, I took to the internet to find a good recipe to make this week, as it was one of those cold, wet ones.

Per usual, here are all the ingredients you'll need.

Perhaps the most interesting from this recipe was the parmesan rind, which I've never cooked with (or done anything else for that matter) before.

Also per usual, I just mixed things I bought with things I already had on hand (i.e. chicken or vegetable broth -- or both!)  Navy beans and Great Northern Bean -- why not!?

Cook the sausage, out of the casing, in a pan on medium heat.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add olive oil and a chopped onion until mostly wilted.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute or two.

Drop in pretty much everything else -- broth, beans, parmesan rind, bay leaf(ves), oregano and bring to a boil.

Once at a boil, simmer for an additional 15 minutes, which is when I added the zucchini -- next time I would probably wait until the 10 minute simmer mark to add the zuch, but it was not mushy at 15 minutes, so really it's your preference.

Meanwhile, inspired by the amazing crostini I had at my uncle's friends' home after Gold Cup on Saturday, I sliced some baguette...

And brushed on some red pepper flake "infused" olive oil.

Drop that in a 350 oven and go do whatever you want for ten minutes -- in my case, pour yourself a glass of wine and get to blogging!

Check in every once in a while to smell the deliciousness and make sure your kitchen isn't burning down.  Kidding, kidding...

After the 15 minute simmer has completed, add a whole bunch of roughly chopped up kale.

Too much?

Nah...

Take your crostini out of the oven and rub with a just-sliced garlic clove.  No need to go overboard here -- just a once over and that will be plenty.

I made tons, mostly so I could take it to work for lunch.  So glad I did.

Serve, enjoy and feel good about eating a hearty, healthy, homemade meal you completed in less than an hour.