Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 10 cups water
• 7 chicken bouillon cubes (not granules)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons garlic paste
• 1 lb russet potato, peeled and sliced (or cubed. about 3 large)
• 1 lb ground italian sausage
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 bunch fresh kale, torn in small pieces (or 16 oz. bag of prewashed and cut kale. discard stems)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons oscar meyer bacon bits

Recipe

• 1 in a large stockpot, put water, bouillon, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic, and potatoes. cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• 2 sauté the sausage and onion in a skillet, until the sausage is brown, then add it to the stockpot, along with the kale. simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, or until kale and potatoes are tender.
• 3 add the cream and bacon bits, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• 4 notes:.
• 5 i use 10 medium size potatoes.
• 6 half and half can be substituted for the heavy cream if desired.
• 7 kale can be found in the produce department of most grocery stores.
• 8 the soup at the olive garden is not thick. if you wish yours to be more like a cream soup, simply simmer it longer, and mash some of the potatoes in the pot with a wooden spoon, and stir frequently until of the desired consistency.