Zuppa Toscano

I have to confess that one of my favorite places to go for a quick lunch is the Olive Garden.  The soup, salad and bread sticks deal they have there is pretty much my fave.  In fact I think it's the only thing I order there... Anyway, when I cam across a "copy cat" recipe for their Zuppa Toscano I was really excited to make it.  And wow was it good!  Plus it's so much easier to make than I would have thought! I tweaked the recipe a bit, but I love how it turned out and I can't wait to make it again soon!

Just brown your sausage.

Slice the potatoes and onions.

Add them to the pot with the sausage.

Add a couple cartons of stock and let simmer until the potatoes are cooked.

Toss in your kale, add the cream and remove from heat.

Serve up in a big soup bowl and dig in!

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Italian Sausage, casings removed (you could use pork, but the chicken is lower in fat)
2 large russet potatoes sliced
1 small onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
4 cups of kale roughly chopped
2 cartons of chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp of red pepper flake
olive oil

Directions:
Heat a large heavy bottom soup pot, such as a dutch oven, over high heat for several minutes.  Add a few tbs of olive oil and the sausage.  Cook until brown, you may need to reduce heat to med-high so the sausage doesn't burn.  Add the diced onion, the garlic, the red pepper flakes and the sliced russet potatoes, Pour in the chicken broth and the water.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  When the potatoes are cooked through, about 25 minutes, add the kale.  As soon as the kale is wilted add the heavy cream and remove from the heat.  Serve immediately with a good loaf of french bread or some bread sticks.  Enjoy!