Black Bean Kale Soup

This recipe is delicious, quick, and healthy - even gluten free (if you leave out the tortilla chips, cheese, and ham).  It only takes 30 minutes!
*This can be adjusted to be a vegetarian dish by omitting the ham.

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Medium onion - diced
4 Cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 lb of ham - cubed (we just used 4 or 5 slices of deli ham sliced up)
3 - 14 ounce cans of black beans, drained
1 Large bunch of Kale, rinsed, stemmed, and ripped into bite size chunks
3 *quarts of liquid (*4 Cups are in a Quart) - you can use water for all of it or do some of it with broth.  I used 4 bouillon cubes with 3 quarts of water.
3 Tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning or you can use 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning mix plus 1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/2 pound pasta - we used angel hair that we had left over from a previous meal.
Once our soup was prepared, we topped it with broken up tortilla chips and some shredded cheddar cheese.  It was amazing!

1. Bring cooking oil up to medium heat in a large soup pot.  Saute the onion and garlic until tender.  When the onion and garlic start to get tender, add the ham (if you're using it).  Let it cook for just a few minutes.
2. Add the kale that has been rinsed, peeled from the hard stems, and ripped into chunks.  Stir with tongs, it will cook down pretty quickly.  Once the kale has cooked down a bit, add the beans, seasonings, and broth/water.
3. Turn heat up to high, and bring the soup to a low boil.  If possible, let simmer for about 10 minutes.  If you don't have time, it's ok.
4.  Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook for the amount of time on the packaging.  Serve in bowls with broken up tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese for best results... or don't.  :)

*This recipe is from www.ourgaggleofgirls.com