Salad in a Soup Bowl

I'm not talking about needing to do your dishes. I'm talking about taking leafy greens out of the salad and cooking them up in a soup - the perfect fall comfort food.

I've already hit the kale this week with Acorn Squash Kale Soup.

Now it's time for collards.

But before I go too far, I need to thank my mom for making this soup possible.

Mom, thanks for visiting this week to watch my kids while I cooked on Studio 6. IKEA afterwards was a blast and I really needed that pack of napkins and fresh cinnamon roll. Thanks also for cleaning my house and buying me all the things I needed to make a major pot of soup for your dinner party that you were hosting that evening. If it wasn't for you, I would be procrastinating on my housework instead of happily cooking a vat of Turkey Sausage and Collards Soup in a sparkly clean kitchen.

Without further ado, I give you . . .

TURKEY SAUSAGE AND COLLARDS SOUP

This is a mega batch that will yield enough to feed your family, a 6 person dinner party (as an entree), and a family who might need a meal delivered to them after the dad join the army. If you don't have that many people to feed you can either buy some gallon freezer bags or half/third/greatly reduce the recipe.

Ingredients
2 lbs lean turkey sausage (uncooked, nitrate free)
10 cans white beans (rinsed and drained)
2 bundles collards (stemmed and chopped) OR about 16 - 20 cups chopped collards
3 - 4 large onions (chopped)
4 - 6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Kosher salt to taste

Directions

1. In a LARGE pot heat oil over medium/high. Add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Add turkey sausage and stir in, letting fall apart and crumble as you cook.

2. Once turkey is cooked or near cooked through, add collards in batches. Once the collards have wilted down, add just a bit of water to keep the bottom from burning while you work on the beans.

3. Add about half the beans whole. Mash the other half with your hands (saves you from having to clean your food processor) and plop in. The mashed beans thicken the soup giving it a creamy texture without adding cream or dairy of any kind.

4. Add enough water to cover beans and stir together. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer til ready to serve. The longer it sits, the better is it! Add salt to taste.

Yields approximately 27 cups!