Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup

Soup season is officially here and I am so excited to try out a few new recipes and make some of my delicious old stand by's.  Apparently I was a little bit over excited for soup season because I made this soup weeks ago in the middle of a heat wave, like a crazy person.  I had a bunch of kale leftover from making this delicious noodle salad and decided this soup was how I needed to use it up. I could have done a billion other things like make kale chips or add it to salad or just saute it, but no, I decided to make soup. Although the soup was fantastic, I really wouldn't suggest it for a hot day.  The beautiful crisp fall weather that is rolling in will be much better suited for enjoying this recipe!     

This soup is very rich and super creamy; definitely a treat meal. The sausage and potatoes add a wonderful heartiness while the kale does help give the soup a bit of freshness and lightens it up slightly.  Not to mention, kale is full of nutritional health benefits so this recipe is a great way to sneak in a vegetable that might not go over so well with picky eaters if it was served all on its own.  Feel free to substitute the heavy cream in the recipe for regular milk.  The substitution will make the soup a little less rich, which I actually think would be a welcome change.  This recipe is very simple, has a short list of ingredients and can be made pretty quickly, but the flavors all come together beautifully and it just tastes amazing.  I am so looking forward to enjoying more recipes like this one over the next few months.  It is a good thing that the cool fall weather is here and we can all pile on the warm, comfy, (read - baggy) clothes again! Let me know if you give this recipe a try and how you like it!  P.S. - sorry for the picture quality this time around - sometimes 16 months old have an intense need to stir and you literally only have 3 seconds to snap a picture :)

Sausage, Potato, & Kale Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage, sweet or hot
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 medium russet potatoes, thinly sliced and quartered
2 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large heavy bottom pot, over medium high heat, add the olive oil and sausage.  Break up the sausage into small bits and cook until beginning to brown.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and the garlic and continue to cook until soft and translucent.  Add the chicken stock, potatoes, and kale and return the heat to high.  Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, stir in the heavy cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Inspired by Alaska from Scratch