Sausage, White Bean and Kale Stew

I am in full blown soup mode.  All the wonderful stews and soups to cook over the fall season has me so excited.  Of course, it's still 90 plus degrees here in Texas, but that's never stopped me.  :)  
I had to buy kale to make my Smokey Minestrone Tortellini Soup and I knew I would have extra.  Months ago I made a great soup with kale and sausage, so I googled that one again.  
As I was making this soup I kept thinking...I should add something.  But, then I stopped myself.  Sometimes, simple is just perfect.  So, with the few ingredients, I threw this meal together in under 30 minutes.  Served with some toasted bread. 
There is a ton of room to play with different types of sausage.  Since my father-in-law doesn't care for pork, I used smoked turkey sausage.  But, any sausage will work and add new flavors to the dish.  If I could find the duck sausage mentioned in the recipe, I would love to try that!  Oh and, don't skip the lemon juice...really makes the dish light and bright.  Happy cooking!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 4 (2-ounce) smoked turkey and duck sausages with fennel, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (such as Gerhard's)
• 2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (add more if you want it more soupy)
• 2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups bagged chopped kale
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

• Preheat broiler.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sausage; sauté 1 minute. Add water, broth, and beans; bring to a boil. Stir in kale, black pepper, red pepper, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.
• While soup simmers, sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese over each bread slice; broil 1 minute or until cheese melts. Serve toasts with soup.