The Best Soup I Ever Had

I love eating in-season produce, however, this can present a bit of a problem during the winter. Veggies such as kale, chard, and collard greens are abundant this time of year and are rich in iron and folic acid, but I have always been somewhat perplexed on how to prepare them. I recently mentioned this dilemma to a friend of mine and she said that the answer to my problem lay in Olive Gardens Zuppa Toscana. Don't let the fancy Italian moniker faze you, translated it simply means Tuscan soup. Eating out at the Olive Garden is not really feasible when you have four kids but Olive Garden publishes many of their recipes on their website. I highly suggest you take some time a peruse some of your favorite dishes there and you will be surprised how simple they are to make. Olive Garden Recipes   This soup is rich, hearty and satisfying, in other words the perfect winter soup. It is quite literally the best soup I have ever had. The recipe below is copied from the Olive garden site, however, I did make a couple of changes. For instance, their recipe calls for  bouillon but I used "Better than Bouillon" which has all the convenience of bouillon cubes only without all the MSG. I also sauteed the kale with the sausage to give the kale a head start.


Zuppa Toscana


1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
3 cloves garlic
10 cups water
10 tsp "Better than Bouillon" (or fresh chicken broth)
1 cup heavy cream
3 large sliced russet potatoes
1/4 bunch of kale cut into pieces

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper and kale in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!