Sausage, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

This trip I learned...

I really would have enjoyed that Jetta I dreamed of driving at age 16.  My silver little coupe was quite fun the last few days.

Always remember to let your loved ones know you arrived at the car rental facility.  When you can't find your phone, you don't have far to look in the car.

Making a meal before you leave is a great way to come home.

Sunday before I left I made a big pot of soup knowing full well that Mr. J would be eating all sorts of things I would rather not think about instead of my delicious soup. 

The best kinds of soup are the ones that use up random things in the fridge that need to be used up.  We had sweet potatoes, chicken sausages, and collard greens.  Sounds like a delicious soup combination to me.

I managed to make it all in one pot too.  First the sausage gets cooked. Remove and slice in to coin pieces. Then, the greens get sauteed with a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and chopped onions.

Put the sausage back into the pot and add chicken broth.  At this point you could put in some chopped sweet potatoes.  Boil the broth for about 15 minutes till the sweet potatoes are cooked.  I didn't really want to wait so I used one of the Ziplock Steamer bags.  Microwave for 3 minutes till the sweet potatoes are just soft.  Add to the soup.

Sausage, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 links chicken sausage

1 cup chopped sweet potatoes

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

16oz mixed collard greens

64 oz chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large stock pot put 1 tbsp olive oil.   Sear 3 sausage links in pan flipping as necessary so all sides cooked. Remove and slice in to coin pieces, set aside. 

Add the greens to pan to saute with a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and chopped onions.  Move around a bit as the greens cook down.  Cook for about 20 minutes at this point they will be wilted but still a bit bitter.  They will continue to cook.

Put the sausage back into the pot and add chicken broth bring to a simmer.  Add chopped sweet potatoes.  Continue simmering the soup for about 15 minutes till the sweet potatoes are cooked.  (See note above for shortened sweet potato method).

Serve warm with a touch of Parmesan cheese.

Look how much prettier the photos are in natural light.  If only I could work from noon to six each day.  Life is so much brighter during the day.

 Mr. J eventually ended up having some too and liked it quite a bit even with all that green-y goodness.