Turkey Sausage and Kale Soup

It is a cold rainy day and I am so glad I planned this soup on the menu! Very Yummy and filling!
I did have to substitute a few things from the original recipe I wanted to have, but was still great!

I am taking a little time while Brother is napping to get this blog post done, start looking for recipes for next week and just resting(3 yr old BOYS wear you out!)  ;-)

I have to share that we are all going strong on this healthy eating challenge! I can feel the change; I do not want a soda(really), I don't want to eat crap because I know how many calories are in it and I don't want to have to walk/exercise more just to get those off on top of what I already have to do. I am really enjoying the juicing, wish I could get in to the smoothies more though, my blender is not getting it..well..smooth. It's very thick and gritty. Any tips would be appreciated!

On to the recipe, here we go...

Turkey Sausage and Kale Soup 

Turkey Sausage- (I used Seasoned Turkey Sausage Links, because that's what I had on hand. This would be good with regular Turkey meat seasoned, ground chicken seasoned, Turkey kielbasa, etc...)

1 small onion, 3/4 cup, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes , drained but juice reserved

Broth/Water- ( I used 2 cans chicken broth and 2 cups water. Which was very good, however next time I am going to try with vegetable broth and water)

4 red potatoes, quartered (about 2 cups)

1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used Pinto because that's what I had)

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bunch kale (about 6 cups raw), stems removed and cut into bite-size pieces

*Place a dutch oven over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

*Once it is hot,add onion and meat. Let cook until the meat is browned and onions are soft. Remove meat and set aside.

*Add the garlic and the drained tomatoes to the pot, stir constantly until the tomatoes begin to dry out and brown color begin to form on bottom of pan.

*Add the reserved tomato juice and broth slowly while stirring/scraping the brown from bottom of pot.

*Add the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

*Add beans,carrots, meat and pepper, cook 5 more minutes.

*Add the kale and let simmer until the kale is wilted.

I got the idea for this recipe from SparkPeople.com