Collard Greens and Black-eyed Pea Soup for a Cold Winter Day

It's COLD up here in North Louisiana!!! Our low was 15 degrees yesterday and we aren't expected to have a day time temperature higher than 50 degrees for the next seven days!! That kind of weather calls for a big, hot pot of soup and since I had to harvest collard greens before the extreme low temperatures Wednesday night, I searched for a recipe that used them.

I found this recipe at www.eatingwell.com :

Collar Greens and Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Makes: 6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes          

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, (4 sliced and 1 whole), divided
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 5 cups chopped collard greens, or kale leaves (about 1 bunch), tough stems removed
• 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed
• 6 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal
• 6 tablespoons shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
• 2 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

 

***I used Swanson's new flavored chicken broth - the Cajun one.
      I also added one pound of bulk turkey sausage

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add sliced garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Increase heat to high and add broth, tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in collard greens (or kale), reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig. Stir in black-eyed peas; remove from the heat and cover.
2. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
3. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Rub each bread slice with the remaining garlic clove. (Discard garlic.) Turn the slices over and top with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the soup topped with the cheese toasts and bacon.

Nutrition

Per serving: 192 calories; 6 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 12 g protein; 5 g fiber; 518 mg sodium; 253 mg potassium

James and I didn't get to enjoy the baguette with cheese and bacon, as we are trying to slim down before Katherine's wedding.  I didn't even tell him it was a possibility :)

                                                                                                              Enjoy,
                                                                                                                   Shelli