Recipe - Zuppa Toscana

So as I said in my intro, I LOVE to cook. So I decided to share a delicious recipe!. Tysen and I went to Olive Garden for our one year anniversary and as his starter he ordered their soup Zuppa Toscana. It's his favorite. When we got home that night I did lots of research on which soups are most like Olive Garden's. I found a quick crockpot version for those long work/school days and then one that takes a little more involvement, but that's okay because it turned out perfect! 

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 1 lb Italian sausage 
• 2 large russet potatoes, sliced in half and then into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1/4 cup of bacon bits (optional) 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 cups of kale, chopped 
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 shakes of red pepper flakes 

Directions (with pictures, yay!):

Brown the sausage in your soup pot, I suggest chopping the sausage into small pieces. I have never cooked with sausage before and I didn't realize it didn't fall apart like ground beef does. So yes, slice that sausage. 

Chop those potatoes, onions, and garlic. 

Add the broth and water to your soup pot & stir. Then add your onions, garlic, and potatoes. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are done. 

Then, add the bacon bits, I like to use the real bacon bits. Real bacon would be ideal but you know, that takes time to cook and I wasn't feel all that up to it. 

Add salt and pepper to taste and add the red pepper flakes. 

Let it simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Turn to low heat.

Add the kale. 

I've never cooked with it before so I had to look up how to cut it because I didn't want to screw it up. All you gotta do it slice down the fine and then cut into about 1 inch chunks. 

Then add the whip cream. 

Let everything heat through, which means let the kale soften. 

Then ... ta da!! All done :) Mmm