souper great soup

winter in wisco is starting to wear on me and with the frigid temperatures we have been experiencing, i needed some filling soup to soothe my soul. i made the most delicious soup the other day and my mister loved it. he took it to work for lunch and followed up with an email stating how fantastic it was. so, ladies, this soup is man approved. it keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days so it's an easy lunch option. in fact, my friend hannah came over the other night for dinner and we had this soup and salad. she also loved it so i sent a bowl home with her that she could take to work the next day. we liked the soup so much that three days later i made another batch.

from start to finish it didn't take me longer than 45 minutes to make.

ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. mild italian sausage
• 4 carrots
• 3 celery stalks 
• small sweet onion
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 3 handfuls frozen kale
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can northern beans
• 2 cups green lentils, cooked
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 3 hot chili peppers
• 1 teaspoon red hot pepper flakes

directions:

1. brown italian sausage in a large pan. set a aside.

2. chop the carrots, celery, and onion.

3. saute the carrots, celery, and onion in the same large pan. add 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1  teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. saute until onion is translucent.

4. as you are sauteing the veggies above, slice the zuchinni and quarter each slice. then toss these in the pan.

5. add 3 handfuls of kale. i used frozen kale because it's what i had at home. fresh kale would be great as well.

6. transfer mixture into a stock pot. add can of diced tomatoes. drain and rinse great northern beans and add to stock pot.

7. add italian sausage to stock pot and the two cans of chicken broth. add two cups of cooked green lentils. toss in three hot chili peppers and 1 teaspoon of red hot pepper flakes. 

8. let simmer for about 30 minutes and enjoy a piping hot bowl.

i hope you enjoy this quick, delicious recipe. it seriously is souper great!

also, i apologize for the picture quality as i took all of these photos at night and the lighting wasn't the best.