North Woods Bean Soup

This is a great recipe for a cold day. Funny story... we ate kielbasa sausage frequently in my family growing up. For some reason we pronounced it something more like kabossy sausage. Don't ask me why, I have no idea!

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves
Preparation

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.
Yield

5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 227(15% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 18.1g; CHOLESTEROL 26mg; CALCIUM 112mg; SODIUM 750mg; FIBER 6.7g; IRON 3.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.8g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002