Zuppa!

It's a two-posts-in-one-day kind of weekend, folks! :) Let's jump right in. I don't know about all of you, but I'm a huge fan of the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. Never fails, whenever I get the 'soup or salad' question, I will 100% always respond with, "I'll have the Zuppa please!" Something about it just makes my mouth water, and you can't forget the fact that it goes perfectly with those delicious breadsticks! Anyway, through my periodic Pinterest browsing (I say periodic because I've kept my obsession in check over the past few weeks), I ran across a recipe that is suppose to be a clone of OG's version. Being the skeptic I am, I thought to myself that a recipe couldn't possibly get it exactly right. However, just because I was skeptical didn't mean I wasn't curious. I finally decided to give it a whirl last night because I have one of those RARE free, relaxing weekends to do whatever the heck I want! Got a few groceries from the store after work and then got down to business. Overall, the process to make it was incredibly easy. And rather than make you wait until after the photos to give you my verdict, I've got one word: AMAZING. Seriously, such a delightfully delicious soup! I will undoubtedly be making this again. And probably very soon. :)

You can certainly check out the recipe here, but for ease, I thought I'd include it right in this blog post as well. Trust me when I say you need to try this recipe immediately! Take note in the ingredients that when you see a *, it means that I included a note below about what "I" did when I made this recipe. Lastly, please forgive me for my less than stellar food photography. Blame my phone camera!

All the ingredients!

All prepped! (Onions, garlic, potatoes, and kale)

Fry up the bacon. Sizzle, sizzle. :)

Add in the Italian sausage.
Drain once browned.
(It was VERY hard for me to buy non-Smith Bros. meat.)

Push the meat to the outside and saute the onions and garlic!

Add in the chicken stock.

And the potatoes...
(Let simmer for 20 minutes.)

Now add in the kale.

And the heavy whipping cream.

And voila!! All done already!
I paired it with some crispy French bread. Heavenly!!
(Seriously, go make this. NOW;).

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon, cut into a small dice
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage (I think the hot is key! I've tried regular & it wasn't the same.)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth or stock
• 3 cups Russet potatoes, cubed
• 3/4 tsp sea or kosher salt and 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
• 2 loose packed cups kale, in bite size pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream or 14 ounce can evaporated milk (I used heavy cream.)
• Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving

Now for the fun part... The PROCESS.

DIRECTIONS

• In a large soup pot or sauce pan, cook bacon over medium until crispy. Add sausage and break it apart as it cooks. Once sausage is browned and crumbled, drain off the grease, leaving a tablespoon or two to saute onion.
• Push the sausage to the edges of the pot and add onion to center; saute until translucent; add garlic; saute until fragrant.
• Stir in broth and potatoes, season with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; simmer for about 20 minute or until potatoes are tender.
• Add kale and heavy cream or evaporated milk. Bring to a simmer. Serve with Parmesan cheese (and crusty bread, optional).

SO GOOD!!!