When the temperatures drop, a bowl of this soup will warm you up instantly.
Thankfully, the bunnies were willing to share some of their kale with us, because the leafy green is a perfect complement to all the flavors.
Are you ready to grab a stockpot and start cooking?
SOME BOOK INSPIRATION:
Jackson from Guard My Heart (Crystal Shores Book Two) is at it again, and this time, Anika's not sick. He just wanted to make a special recipe to warm her up from the inside out.
He has this thing about layering flavors to make the dish pop. That's why he first browned the sausage and then left the bits in the pan for the next steps.
Anika didn't want to do it, but she had to...she grabbed a giant second bowl and ate every last bite. I guess you could say the recipe was a winner.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
A few days before I decided to make this recipe, I was testing out a butternut squash au gratin recipe. I had about three cups of raw squash that I didn't use, which is why I ended up making this dish.
The soup incorporated dried sage and dried serrano peppers from my garden. Which made me think, this recipe is not just perfect for the cooler temps, it would be perfect for a gardener, too, because if you grow squash and kale, you would love this recipe.
The soup is really easy to make. If you have a busy night, it will take you about 35-45 minutes to cook it from start to finish. So good!
Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Kale Soup
Recipe by Terra Kelly
Prep: 25-30 minutes
Cook: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 lb ground sausage, browned
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 cups butternut squash, cubed
5 cups vegetable stock
2 cups of kale
1 tsp dried sage
½ tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large stock pot, brown the sausage. Then remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pot, sauté butternut squash in the sausage bits for extra flavor. Stir frequently and let cook through for about 2-3 minutes. The squash will be soft on the outside and still firm on the inside.
Add the onion to the butternut squash and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and stir to combine all the flavors.
Next, add the sausage back into the stock pot. Add sage, chili powder, and stock. Stir the ingredients, and then let the soup come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add the Kale and cook for 2 minutes or until the kale leaves soften.
Time to enjoy!
NOTE: This recipe used leftover butternut squash. I had a large squash, and this recipe used about half of the squash (about 3 cups).
This recipe uses a mild sausage; it would be delicious with a hot sausage.
To make it vegetarian-friendly: Remove the sausage and add a vegan-friendly sausage or more veggies. You could even add a great northern bean for something extra.
I used sage dried from my garden and serrano chili dried from my garden. So the flavors were strong and more than enough. You may need more or less of the sage and chili. Add and taste.
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