Eat your veggie stew with meatballs

was our Wednesday night dinner.  The girls were at camp were at day camp, while I worked from home.  Last night I decided to make soup. I took a cup of dry beans to soak overnight, and took out a package of frozen bulk sausage - remember our frozen family meat pack :).  In the morning I made the dough for the quick-no-knead bread and let everything rest until I picked up the girls.

We really like soup, and veggies especially on a rainy day. Oh, and yes today I made it with carrots, kale, onion, and sweet potato.

Here is the recipe

- Splash of olive oil
- one onion diced
- 2-3 carrots cleaned and diced
- salt
- 1 cup of dry 13 bean mix soaked overnight
- 1/3 cup dry barley
- 1 quart of chicken, or vegetable broth - I like Pacific Foods
- 1 large can of diced tomatoes - with broth
- 1 lb. of bulk sausage - optional
- 1 bunch of kale diced
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil and sautee onions with a pinch of salt.  Once they are soft,
2. add carrots and sauté for a little while longer, about 2 minutes until they are bright orange.
3. Add broth, canned tomatoes, barley and the soaked - drained - beans.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat
    down and simmer until beans and barley are soft.
4. Form meatballs out of the bulk sausage and fry them in a cast iron pan without oil.  When browned,
    drop them into the soup.
5. When beans/barley are soft, and meatballs are soft, add the Kale on top of the pot.  Put lid on pot.
    Leave it the lid on until the Kale is bright green and texture according to your liking.  We like it a little
    crunchy. Adjust salt and pepper

 Serve in a soup bowl with fresh, crusty bread. Enjoy!