Kale & White Bean Soup by Colleen Guenther

Well, we carbed it up this morning with the ever delicious Savory Cheesy Hash Browns so I thought it would be a good idea to have a healthier evening meal.  I was also too lazy to make a run to the grocery store and I already had the majority of ingredients for this soup on hand, which is always very nice. However, I am having a girl friend come over to make some jewelry and she is bringing the kale;)

1/2 TBS Olive Oil
1 white onion diced
1 carrot sliced
5 cloves of garlic minced
5 bay leaves
Pinch or two of chili flakes
Pinch of dried sage
1 bunch of de-ribbed and chopped kale
3 tomatoes diced or 1 can diced tomatoes (I used fresh)
1 can of white beans (I used navy since that is what I had)
3-4 cups vegetable broth
Splash of red wine (optional)
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat your olive oil in a soup pot and throw in your onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, chili flakes, sage, wine and salt and pepper. Sautee on medium for about 5-8 minutes until the onions are soft. Then, add all of your other ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes and serve. If you want to let it simmer for a while longer, only add your kale 10 minutes before you are going to serve.

Cheers!