Thursday- North Woods Bean Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light

Chef’s Notes: As you can imagine, I’m a super nerd and get recipes in my email. When I saw this I knew this was something I would love. And, lucky for us, I was really in the mood for sausage!

Plan of Attack:

1. Brown onion, carrot & sausage

2. Simmer

3. Partially blend and eat

Ingredients for 2.5:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

7 oz kielbasa, or high-quality sausage of your choice (we used beef & venison)

2 ½ C broth of choice

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Salt & pepper to taste

1 (15.8 oz) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

½ bag (about 2.5 oz) fresh baby spinach

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot to medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic & kielbasa; sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally
2. Add broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes
3. Carefully remove some of the onion/carrot/garlic from the soup and blend until smooth. (I chose not to blend a sausage because it seemed wrong)
4. Add blended soup back into the pot along with the fresh spinach; simmer another 5 minutes or until the spinach wilts
5. Enjoy!