Kielbasa Potato Chowder

This is a great chowder, super easy and fast!! I served it with grilled panini's (tomato, mozzarella, spinach, hummus, and pesto on ciabatta). I also modified the original recipe by adding a small, cooked chicken breast and decreasing the amount of sausage.

Servings: 4
Time: Prep - 15 minutes, Cook 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used Turkey and it was great.)
1-1/2 cups water
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon chicken bullion granules
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 kale leaves, torn or 1/3 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or 2% milk

Directions:
In a large non-stick skillet, brown kielbasa and bacon; drain, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings. Ad onion and garlic; cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender.

In a large saucepan, bring broth and water to a boil. Add the potatoes, bullion and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add the meat mixture and kale or spinach; cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until leaves are wilted. Reduce heat. Add the cream; cook 1 minute longer or until heated through. Yield: 4 cups.

Note: If you decide to add a small chicken breast, decrease the amount of sausage to about 1/3 lb if you want to. Also, I cooked the finely cubed, cooked chicken with the sausage, bacon, onion, and garlic all at the same time to let the chicken soak up some of the flavor from the other ingredients. I also added all of it to the cooked potatoes portion, including drippings (with the chicken, there really aren't much as far as drippings are concerned).