White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale

I only blog about success stories, so when I say this was delicious, you shouldn't be too surprised. (This soup really is good though!) I made it because I needed to find another way to use my excess kale I got from the farmer's market... it really turned out nicely. AND I got to use my crock pot - I love finding ways to use my crock pot!! #weddingpresent


White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale(Serves 6-8)

• 1 pound hot Italian sausage (casings removed)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 pound dry white beans (canellini or great northern), rinsed
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or oregano
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 large bunch kale, thick stems removed and chopped
• Cheese (optional)

Brown the sausage over medium-high heat, then put in crock pot. Add the vinegar, beans, onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the meat in the slow cooker, and stir. Add the chicken broth and the sprigs of fresh thyme/oregano. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.
Approximately 30 minutes before serving, stir in the fresh tomato and the kale. Once the tomato is warmed through and the kale has wilted into the soup, serve topped with some cheese. :)

Link to the origional recipe:
http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2011/09/white-bean-soup-with-sausage-and-kale/

Apple Sauce

It's Atutumn!!! And I made apple sauce from whole apples. :) It was seriously SOOO good. Here's how you do it:
Start with a bunch of little apples.


Wash, core and half them all.


Put all the cored and halved apples in a big-ish pot with about 2 T lemon juice and a touch of water. (If you want it to be like cinnamon flavored, add some cinnamon.) Simmer the combination until all the apples are mushy (about 20 minutes). Then pick out all the skins of the apples. (You can use them in your green smoothie or something!)


Now you can smash up the apples and add sugar/brown sugar until it's as sweet as you want it. For 8 small apples, I would suggest 1/4 C sugar.

Look how pretty!! I love how it's PINK.


Keep in mind that it will be pretty chunky, so if you like your apple sauce really smooth, you should run it through a food mill before you eat it.


Apple Sauce
8 small apples (you can use a variety of apples)
Water
2 T lemon juice
Cinnamon (optional)
1/4 C Sugar/Brown Sugar