Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

We had this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit! Andrew, who is notorious for going several nights in a row without dinner had two bowls full! I wasn't sure how having a soup without any chunky stuff in it would go....they usually don't like that, but I gave them some curly straws and they went to town. Now, to give fair warning, (and credit) this is a recipe from Giada of the Food Network; however it's not as rich as most of her stuff.

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped (I used an onion)
  
• 1 sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

In your soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil, (not sure why she used both.....obviously this could be changed to "healthify" the recipe but I went with it). Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sage leaf, (mine looked kind of small, so I used two for good measure) beans, garlic, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes. I turned mine down way low and simmered for over an hour; I had the time and wanted the beans to be nice and soft and the flavors to have plenty of time to cook in. Next, pour the soup into a blender or food processor in batches. Puree until smooth. Return to soup pot and add cream and pepper. Serve.

Now for those that don't like cream....okay, let's face it we all LIKE cream, but for those who are dieting better than me, you could totally leave it out if you wanted. The soup was creamy from the beans alone...it just added a little more flavor and depth. And let's face it, coming out of that first trimester morning sickness fog, my family is lucky to have dinner at all. Brandon's actual words tonight were, "No offense, but this was great. The first dinner in a while that hasn't tasted like cardboard." Yeah ladies....I was in a bad way. Nothing sounded good, therefore I made no effort. Glad we're past that.

By the way Ash, I took your advice and used real garlic instead of the stuff from the jar for the first time. I may have turned a new leaf! It was every bit as good as you said it would be. And for full disclosure, one of my cloves of garlic looked a bit small, so I used 5. Livin' on the edge!

One more thing: Emily, I made your banana cookies this week and they were awesome!! Everyone in my family loved them, and I loved them having a treat with no sugar! ;)