Zuppa Toscana Soup

So the kids & I made another one of our favorite soups. In fact, we made a double batch of it so we would have plenty to not only eat but freeze for later meals as well. Pretty much any soup we like I am able to freeze so I always make plenty for that very reason.

This soup is a copycat recipe to the Zuppa Toscana you can get at Olive Garden.

Here is a pic of a few of the ingrediants. And yes, I used a lot more sausage than you see (the rest was cooking as I took this pic)

This soup is SOOO good!! A few things I change, I don't add quite the amount of cream it calls for. ( I try to cut out a few calories where I can without compromising taste). I also use whatever sausage I get ~~marked down~~ on sale. lol! This batch of soup had a combo of Shady Maple's onion & pepper sausage & some regular sausage. I also tossed in a little bit of crushed red pepper because we love food with a little spice to it.

The kids could hardly wait to dig into it! They would even eat this as a snack! And yes, it tastes even better than it looks! Oh, and for those who are paleo or low carb, I have also used cauliflower in place of the potatoes with wonderful results!!!

1 lb Italian sausage (or whatever flavor you prefer, spicy is good!)
2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 can oscar meyer bacon bit (I used some real bacon, cooked, since I happened to have some on hand but you can skip this ingredient as well)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (though I use light cream with no problem)

-Cook sausage either by baking or sauteeing
-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

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