Recipe for Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

This recipe, which I wrote about in Part One of the Raising Adventurous Eaters series, is very forgiving and you can adjust the quantities of each ingredient to your taste. I like my soup with a lot of kale, so I use two bags of it. You can easily use one bag or even less, if you prefer.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing (I use kitchen shears and cut length-wise)
1 yellow onion, diced
1-15 ounce can white kidney (Cannellini) beans, drained
2-10 ounce bags of kale
4 cups chicken broth

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stockpot. I use one that holds 8 quarts.
2. Brown sausage until crumbled. I use a wooden paddle to break up the meat as it cooks.
3. Add onion and stir occasionally until translucent, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add beans, kale, and chicken broth, in that order. Push down on the kale to fit it into the pot.
5. Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower heat to simmer on low. Cook until kale is tender enough for your preference. I leave it simmering for about 45 minutes.

Notes
I like to keep the stems on my kale for extra fiber. If you prefer, remove the stems and this will shorten your cooking time in Step 5 to about 15 minutes.