Soup Variations - White beans and Kale

While the soup I made last night was very tasty and lovely, when I put the recipe on Sparkrecipes.com to get the nutrition, it only has 5.6 g protein per 1/2 cup serving (yes, that is still about all I can manage to eat for a meal).  That is not quite hearty enough for my nutritional needs, so I decided to tweak the recipe even more. While this is still not the best option for a whole meal (7.9 g protein per 1/2-cup serving), it's better than the original recipe.  I am guessing that I could do better with the protein by either adding chicken (which is a slightly better source of protein than sausage) or breaking down and adding unflavored protein powder to the soup.  However, this is a pretty thick soup as it is, so I would probably then have to add more chicken stock to thin it down a bit.

Slow Cooker Bean Soup with Greens and Chorizo

• 2 cans (15-oz) Pinto beans
• 2 cans (15-oz) Cannellini beans
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion*, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic*, minced
• 2 t dried Italian seasoning
• 4 cups chopped kale*
• 4 cups chopped turnip greens*
• 1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes in juice, broken up
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock*
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage (use 2 T fresh leaves if you have them)
• 1 lb fresh chorizo*

Puree 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of cannellini beans in a food processor; set aside.

Heat EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and add onions, cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and Italian seasoning; cook, about 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.  Be careful not to brown the onions.  Place onions in bottom of prepared slow cooker.

Wash, dry and finely chop the greens.  Add the greens, tomatoes, stock and sage to slow cooker; mix well.  Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.  In the meantime, cook chorizo.  Remove from pan and cool about 5 minutes.  Cut chorizo in half longway and then into 1/4 inch slices.  Add to soup and allow to cook for 1 more hour on HIGH to meld flavors.

Makes about 18 1-cup servings (or 36 1/2-cup servings for those of us who have had bariatric surgery).

Nutrition (1-cup serving):
Calories       287.7
Fat                 12.4g
Carbs             29.3g
Fiber                7.4g
Protein            15.8g   

*CSA ingredients