Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Soup

I love hearty vegetable soups. As the weather gets colder, my craving for soup increases. Usually I cook soups in the crockpot so that the flavors can mix for hours, but my crockpot was in need of a good scrubbing and I didn't feel like cleaning it at the moment so I decided to cook this soup on the stove. Hope you all enjoy it.

Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients

• 2.4 oz onion, diced
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 6.5 oz celery, sliced
• 8.4 oz butternut squash, cubed
• 6 cups kale, coarsely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
•  1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Italian sausage links with the meat removed from the packaging or bulk sausage meat equaling that amount
• 6 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped

Procedure

1. In a large pot, pour in the extra virgin olive oil and cook the onion and garlic in it on medium to low heat.
2. Add the carrots, potatoes, squash and celery to the pot when the onions begin to look translucent. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
3. Add the sausage to the pot and cook until the sausage is no longer pink.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, turn the heat to high. Let the pot reach a boil and then turn the heat down to low heat and let the pot simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

Experimental Kale and Lentil Dish

Kale, sweet potatoes, and lentils are really good for you. (Or so the internet tells me.)These foods contain large amounts of fiber and vitamins and are supposedly super filling. I had all these ingredients in my refrigerator and wasn't quite sure what I would do with it so I decided to wing it and make a tangy, sweet but a little salty dish. Vegetable broth can be used instead of chicken broth to make this dish vegetarian-friendly. Be forewarned that the amounts of spices are approximated since I decided to add more spices after taste testing and adjusted the amounts to my best guess of what actually went into the dish. My best advice is to just have the ingredients list and add the listed amount and then add more of whatever ingredient you feel is needed until the dish tastes right to you.

Experimental Kale and Lentil Dish

Ingredients

• 1/2 med red onion, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• approx. 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered or eighthed depending on the size
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• about 8 oz. cooked lentils
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 6 cups chopped kale

Procedure

1. In a small pot, boil water and cook the lentils according to the instructions on the package.
2. In a large pot, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Stir occasionally, then add the sweet potato and mushrooms.
3. Add in the salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and balsamic vinegar to the large pot.Stir occasionally. Cook until sweet potato pieces have begun to soften.
4. To the large pot, add the cooked lentils, chicken broth, and chopped kale. Mix well. Cook until kale has wilted.