Potato Kale Soup

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 cups kale
• 3 slices bacon
• 12 ounces italian sausage, ground
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 large russet potatoes, unpeeled cubed
• 46 ounces chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half

Recipe

• 1 wash and dry kale.
• 2 microwave bacon until crisp, set aside until end.
• 3 in dutch oven, sauté sausage and onion until sausage is brown, remove grease.
• 4 add garlic, potatoes, stock, fennel, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, bring to low boil, cover, and cook until potatoes are done, about 20 minutes.
• 5 meanwhile, remove ribs of kale and chop.
• 6 lower burner to low, remove with slotted spoon about 2 cups potatoes, roughly mash with fork, and stir back into pan.
• 7 stir in chopped kale, simmer about 4 minutes-- we like kale a bit chewy.
• 8 add half and half.
• 9 stir in crumbled bacon, serve.
• 10 note: if freezing, hold off on half and half, add later. you can also put hot soup into bowl and add a tablespoon at a time of the half and half to each bowl. haven't tried yet in crockpot but assume it would work fine.