Zuppa Toscana

This recipe is a great copy of the soup you can find at Olive Garden. This soup is total comfort food to me: creamy, meaty, and spicy. However, this does not have to be spicy, it just depends on what kind of sausage you use. I love buying my sausage at Sunflower Market. It is house made and they always come up with great flavor combination's. Plus, you can either cook it whole or you can take it out of the casing for ground sausage. Sun Flower market almost always has their pork or chicken sausage on sale for 1.99 a pound, which is a great deal.

If you have never had this soup before, it is not a thick creamy soup, it is very thin, so do not be worried when you have a brothy soup. Also, this makes a lot, but it is one of those soups that taste even better the next day. I have been having it for lunch all week and it is still delicious!

Zuppa Toscana

    1 lb Italian sausage
    2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half,and then in 1/4 inch slices
    1 large onion, chopped
    6 slices of bacon cooked and drumbled, or bacon bits
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped (I did not use this because I did not have any)
    2 cans chicken broth
    1 quart water (4 cups)
    1 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat. Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.