I hope you and yours have had a wonderful weekend thus far. I’m finally starting to feel a little bit better though I’m far from 100%. This morning after sleeping for twelve hours, my mom and I found ourselves in the kitchen staring into an over packed refrigerator. The past few nights we’ve returned home with leftovers from each meal. Without time to catch up on any of this food we risked having a lot of it go bad today. A girl who loves her seafood, I decided to salvage the Low Country Boil leftovers first!

On the 26th my brother Ryan, hosted everyone at his home for an oyster roast and Low Country Boil. This was a new tradition for our family but hopefully one that will continue for years to follow as everyone had a blast laughing around the fire while shucking oysters and sipping cold beers. I looked at the two containers of shrimp, potatoes and sausage trying to figure out what I could make when my mom suggested I try my hand at a soup. She figured that with half our family feeling under the weather it would be the perfect dinner. I always love a challenge so I quickly searched our refrigerator and pantry for ingredients before grabbing the cookbook and getting to work. I decided to start the soup with a French mirepoix base to give it flavor before layering in the additional ingredients. A French mirepoix is a trio of aromatic vegetables – onions, carrots and celery, sautéed or used raw as the flavor base for many soups.

This soup is a healthy yet hearty combination of proteins and vegetables that result in a “stick to your bones” soup that is bursting with shrimp flavor.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did this evening! It is the perfect way to use some leftovers in your refrigerator this winter.

Shrimp and Kale Low Country Soup Recipe

Serves: 4  – Preparation Time: 15 minutes -  Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

-1/2 cup chopped carrots

-1/2 cup chopped celery

-1 cup chopped onions (sweet onions preferred)

-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock depending on flavor preference

-1 Bay Leaf

-1 tablespoon parsley

-1 teaspoon Garlic Gold or other preferred seasoning

-2 cups chopped kale

-1 pound of cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp

-1 cooked Kielbasa sausage cut into bit size pieces (can use any type of sausage)

– 5 small new potatoes, cooked and quartered

-1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed

-1/4 cup heavy cream, half and half,  fat free half and half, or milk

 Directions

1. Combine carrots, celery, onions and olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low once the onions begin to brown and the vegetables soften.

2. Pour broth and kale over the softened vegetables and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce to a low simmer and stir in herbs before simmering for 15 minutes while partially covered.

4. Stir in sausage, shrimp, potatoes and drained white beans before simmering for 5 more minutes. Taste for flavor and add any additional seasonings.

5. Stir in cream and allow to simmer on low for 5 final minutes before removing from heat. Serve while warm and garnish with either a drizzle of sherry wine or a few sprigs of kale for added color.

6. Enjoy!