Northern Italy Vegetable Stew (or something like that)

At the end of last semester, I was a bit sleep deprived from a combination of work, studying for finals, packing for Christmas Break, and various other things.  So of course just as my immune system is completely compromised, I hop on a plane, to fly home to the midwest, where it's freezing.  By the time I made it to my parents house, I was about 90% sure I was getting sick.  My parents took me to Olive Garden for dinner my first night home, and I followed one of my #1 rules for eating healthy when eating out:

Always at least look at the "lighter fare" or "under 500 calorie" options on the menu.  You don't have to order from it, but at least consider it.

I have never been happier that I created that rule for myself.  I discovered this fabulous non-pasta option at Olive Garden called Chicken Abruzzi which I felt like was an antioxidant immune-system-boosting wonderland of perfection.  I ordered it, and it turned out to also be delicious!  (And apparently all those immune-system-boosting ingredients did the trick, because I felt better within 24 hours!)

I couldn't remember exactly what was in it, but last week I decided to create something similar at home.

I don't really know exactly what to call this, because there definitely wasn't enough broth to be a soup, but a "one-pot pile of vegetables on a plate" doesn't really sound appealing, and it sort of has a broth, so I'm calling it a stew.  You could easily make this more of a soup by simply adding an extra can of broth.  By substituting vegetable broth, this is also easily a vegetarian/vegan meal!

The food:

1 can great northern or cannellini beans

1 can diced tomatoes (drained)

1 can chicken broth

3-4 medium-large yukon gold potatoes, cubed (substitute any type of potato, but russet potatoes will take longer to cook or should be cut into smaller pieces)

Kale (torn into pieces, stems removed) - I'd say I used about 3/4 of a "bunch" bought at the store... I don't have an exact measurement on this.

Garlic (I honestly just dumped the last of my small jar of minced garlic into the pan... I'd guess it was about a tablespoon, but you can use less if you don't want it to be super garlic-ey.  I also think this would be fabulous with whole cloves of roasted garlic like the original at Olive Garden, but I was improvising)

Basil

Oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

The gear:

Knife and cutting board

can opener

a large pan
A spoon or ladel of some sort.  

The know-how:

1. Saute garlic over medium-low heat (I just used the liquid from the jar of garlic, but you could easily use olive oil or a little bit of the chicken broth.) about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the beans AND the liquid from the can (the starch from the beans will help create a thicker, richer broth.)

3. Add the canned tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a low boil.

4. Stir in the basil, oregano, and any other seasonings.

5. Add the potatoes.  Keep it at a simmer or low boil about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender

6. Add the kale, stir to submerge in liquid.  Let simmer just until kale has wilted.

7. Enjoy!