During the Lenten season, my church has soup suppers on Wednesday night.  I usually bring a pot of soup to church twice a year for this event.  One of my favorite things to do is to take a recipe and adapt it in order to please the masses.  I went on the Food Network website and found a delicious recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup by Emeril Lagasse.  It sounds delicious but there were a few things that I needed to change.  I didn’t think the general population at my church would enjoy chickpeas and I wanted to cut down the cost by eliminating the pancetta.  I knew I needed to make a larger batch than what the recipe provided so I kept that in mind when I went to the grocery store.  While there, I saw that Bob Evans sage sausage was on sale for $1.99 so I knew that would sub out the pancetta and save me money.  Here’s how I made the soup and it is sure to please.

Ingredients

1 package Bob Evans sage sausage, 2 yellow onions (diced), 3 stalks celery (diced), 3 carrots (diced), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 28oz canned diced tomatoes, 3 15 oz cans cannellini beans,  1 15 oz can kidney beans, 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, 2 sprigs rosemary (minced), 5 sprigs thyme, 2 bay leaves, sprinkle of crushed pepper, 1 head kale (cut into bite size pieces)

Directions

1. Brown sausage in the bottom of a large stock pot. 2.  Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until tender. 3. Add diced tomatoes, beans, and stock.  Let it come to a simmer. 4. Add rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and crushed pepper.  When the soup is complete, be sure to pull out the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves.  Continue cooking until the beans and vegetable are tender. 5.  Add the kale and cook until tender.  Enjoy!