Eat Your Greens.

This weekend has been rainy, dreary, and downright melancholy.  There's really only one cure for that.

Soup!

I adore Olive Garden soups, especially the Zuppa Toscana.  I made a fake-it recipe for a friend's baby shower last year, and it was a big hit.  I have been craving it ever since the clouds turned gray outside, so I gathered all the ingredients today.

What's that you say?  You have been searching high and low for a nutritious and cheap green to feed your family? One word.

Kale.

Behold it's many powers.

(Aren't you just overcome?! I wish I could photoshop a lil cape on it's back.  Super Kale!)

But, really, all silliness aside, this is a fantastic veggie.  It packs a major dose of beta carotene and Vitamin C.  Another super power?  It contains sulforaphane - a chemical some people believe to carry anti-cancer properties.  Wow.

Plus, I think it just tastes way better than spinach or broccoli.  Especially in a pot with sausage, potato and bacon.  Mmmmm.

(Try not to overcook it!)

Today, I snagged a whole bag (or maybe a bushel?) of kale for about 70 cents.  It weighs nothing, and even the organic kale is super cheap.  I have some leftover that I might throw into a casserole this week.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

(My husband's bowl.  He's really into red pepper flakes.)

I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding turkey bacon and 1/2 cup of whole milk.  No cream in the fridge, but I think the milk gave it the right consistency.  

Don't forget to include an ice cold Dogfish Head Punkin Ale with this soup.  It screams Fall. Yum!