Recipe(tried): Whote Bean, Sausage, and Kale Stew

Hi Karen:-)This recipe from the magazine, Everyday with Rachel Ray, is rustic and hearty - great for a weeknight meal on a cool, rainy fall or cold, snowy winter night. We thought it was even better when we had leftovers since there was time for the garlic and smoky sausage flavor to penetrate the entire dish. I made this on a night when I seemed to be trying to catch a cold, and was looking for something simple to prepare since I wasn't feeling great. This was it. I served it with a salad and corn bread.

WHITE BEAN, SAUSAGE AND KALE STEW
Yield 4 servings

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 pound precooked pork sausage, such as kielbasa, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I used Hillshire Farms beef smoked sausage.)
3 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 small bunch kale, leaves stripped from stems and coarsely chopped - about 4 cups (I used a 16 ounce bag of frozen chopped kale to simplify the recipe even more.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes.

Add the beans and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, bay leaf and kale and bring to a boil, the reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. (I felt the beans weren't cooked enough after 10 minutes so I cooked the stew another 10 minutes for a total of about 20 minutes.)

Discard the bay leaf. Season the stew to taste with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and the cheese.