Tomato Kale Soup

     Living in Maine, the winter's can sometimes get to you, but when you walk in that door, to a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, all that cold just melts from your body.  Well, if you are like me, you are always on the search for yummy, easy recipes that give off that warm cozy fragrance through out the entire house.  About a month ago, I created this one out of pure accidents, having a big bunch of kale that needed to be used.  So I just dug through my cupboards to see what I could do with it, and Tomato Kale soup was born.  Well, stupidly, I didn't take any pictures of it, so I couldn't blog about it, but last night I made another batch and remembered the pictures this time =)

Tomato Kale Soup
 Prep Time: 30min  
Cook Time: 1hour

Ingredients:
4cups Tomato Soup I used Pacific tomato soup 32oz box
2cups Chicken Stock
1 big bunch Kale
1 med. onion
1 Lg Carrot
2 lg Tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes)
1can Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
1 heaping TBS diced garlic (4-6 cloves)
1/2 Green Pepper
1/4cup Olive Oil
2TBS dried Basil
1TBS dried cilantro
a Pinch of Ground Red Pepper (if you like it spicy use 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese (to top when served)

Directions:
In a med to large stock pot, put in olive oil and set on med high heat, add the diced onion and pepper.  Once soft, add the garlic, cook until the onions are translucent.  Turn heat down to med., add tomato soup, chicken stock, basil, cilantro, ground red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir.  Add the carrot, it can be diced, I sliced it thin with a slicer.  Tear the Kale into bit size pieces and add.  If using canned tomatoes add now, if using fresh tomatoes, wait.  Put the cover on the pot, and turn down so that it is just simmering.  Let cook for about 40min, until kale is nice and tender.  Add diced tomatoes and chickpeas, let simmer another 10min.

Serving:
I usually cook it early so that it can just sit on the stove with the cover on for 30-45min before serving.  Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top.

As you can see from my picture, my honey, really likes it, the pot is almost empty this morning.  You can also make this gluten free if you use Pacific brand soups and stocks.
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I hope you enjoy this delicious soup as much as we did!!