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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Recipe for Turkey Sausage, Rice and Beans Soup



As part of my attempt to do more prep work on the weekends to make eating healthy more likely during the week, I had soaked and cooked some cannellini and black beans.  I used them along with some left over brown rice and veggies, Italian turkey sausage and fresh herbs to whip together a quick, healthy and filling soup.  This made enough for the two of us for 2 meals plus plenty for the freezer.

Makes 8 servings each approximately 330 calories, 11 grams fat, 35 grams carbs,  7 grams fiber, 20 grams protein,  8 WW Points+
Ingredients: 
5 links of Turkey Italian Sausage (I used mild, lean), cooked and cut in to bite size pieces
3 cups cooked brown rice (mine was left over brown rice with steamed broccoli and spinach)
6 cups liquid (I used vegetable stock)
2 cups cooked black beans, (soaked overnight and cooked per directions on bag with cumin, cilantro stems and bay leaves)
2 cups cooked cannellini beans, (soaked overnight and cooked per directions on bag with bay leaves, garlic and pepper)
½ tsp red pepper flakes (more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 TBSP coarsely chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary and parsley)
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP good quality balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Combine all ingredients except last 3 and let simmer until warmed through.  Stir in the butter and balsamic and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan on top.  Great with some crusty bread.


If you use canned beans, be sure add more herbs and/or spices (garlic, bay leave, cumin etc) in to the finished soup and let simmer a bit longer to give the flavors time to develop.  You can skip the butter if you like (for 8 servings it’s only a bit).  The butter and the touch of balsamic just gave the soup a nice velvety finish.

Do you have any soups in the freezer?

Printable Recipe