Sweet Potato and Kale soup

Nothing beats a hearty bowl of soup in the winter.  As I've mentioned previously, sometimes its hard for me to find really tasty vegetarian recipes.  Thanks to my awesome brother for this recipe.  Though he is not a vegetarian, his lovely wife is, and he does a great job of finding recipes that taste awesome, but also provide protein and lots of nutrients.  We all know Kale is a "super food" and that we should make it a staple in our diets, but c'mon, it's like eating leaves off of a tree!  Not with this recipe!  You'll be eating and loving it!

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Chop up one small or half of a large onion.  Add to large stockpot with 1 tbsp EVOO.
(Haha, right now, my bro is cringing because I said EVOO!  :)

 

 Add seasoning.  You could use a premixed blend of Italian seasoning.  I added parsley, oregano, and cumin.  I never measure - sorry!

 While onions are softening, chop up sweet potato into bite sized pieces.  I like to peel them, but you could always leave the skin on!

My bro's recipe calls for 12 cloves of garlic.  12!  I know that seems like a lot, but since it's added early, they really mellow out but still add a punch of flavor.  I only had 7 tonight, but they were big.  Feel free to adjust to your own person feelings about garlic.

 If those onions are soft, go ahead and add 6 cups of veggie broth.  I used 6 cups of water and two tablespoons of "Better than Bouillon" vegetable base.  Add potatoes and garlic.  Add two cans of beans, drained and rinsed.  I like to add white and kidney beans for color and variety.

(Side note: I have a 5:00pm Barnacle Baby.  That means that if I want to cook at all, I can only do it one handed since I'll have to support 22.5 pounds on my hip with the other hand.  So, I put everything together in the pot at this point (with the heat off) and went to pick up T from daycare.  All I had to do later was add kale and adjust settings on the stove - super easy for moms of barnacles!)

Really starting to look good huh?  Bring everything to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and break 6 dense curly leaves of kale into bite sized pieces.  I love to use my salad spinner for this step.  Makes it so easy!

Add kale and let simmer for 10 more minutes.  I love how bright green the kale turns once you add it.

Add salt and pepper to flavor as desired, I didn't add any.  So yummy and healthy!  Not only will this soup have you eating kale, you'll actually like it!  It keeps its crunchiness without being overpowering.  My sweet hubs said this was my best batch yet!