Copy Cat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients*:

10 russet potatoes
4 spicy italian sausages
4 mild italian sausages
2 bunches of kale
2 yellow onions
10 garlic cloves
8 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 lbs bacon
4 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon of Corn Starch (optional)

*I make a huge pot so cut the recipe in half for a smaller batch.

Prep work:

Wash potatoes, leave skin on, cut them in half, then slice them about 1/4 an inch thick so they hold up in the soup.
Remove the sausage from the casing and break up with your hands or cut them into bite size pieces. You can buy sausage without casing if you prefer.
Slice bacon into bite size pieces.
Chop onions into bite size pieces.
Mince garlic.
Take Kale leaves off of their thick stems. Tear or cut leaves into bite size pieces.

Cooking Instructions:
Heat a large stock pot to medium temperature. Add bacon and brown until crispy. Pull out and set onto paper towels on a plate to soak up the oil.  Assess oil situation. Remove some oil if a lot is in the pan. Leave enough to start browning the sausage.  Add sausage and brown then remove onto paper towels on a plate. Assess oil situation. If there is a lot, then remove some leaving enough to saute onions and garlic.  Add onions to the pan with some salt and pepper and saute until translucent. 3/4 of the way through sauteing the onions, add in the garlic. Saute together stirring often until the onions are finished. Be sure not to burn the garlic.  Add the sliced potatoes to the pot then add in the chicken broth a little at a time and scrape the bottom of the pot to get the goodies off of the bottom.  Add in the water and more salt/pepper because the potatoes are bland and require a lot of salt. Bring temperature to high and boil the ingredients until the potatoes become soft. Bring the temp down to medium and add the Kale.  Stir the pot to immurse the kale in the soup. Add back in the sausage and bacon. Stir and taste the soup for salt/pepper and spiciness. Add extra salt and pepper.  If you like spicy food then add in a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

Once the Kale has softened assess the thickness of the soup. I personally like a thicker heartier soup than Olive Garden's version, but make it however you like. If you'd like it thicker you can bring up the temp to high and boil it longer to break up the potatoes to thicken it. Stir and check on the thickness. Stirring will break down the potatoes more. Once the soup is your desired thickness, lower the temp back to simmer and add in the heavy whipping cream, stir the soup, check one final time for salt/pepper then serve with crusty bread.

If you want a thicker soup but don't want to wait for the potatoes to break down by boiling the soup longer, turn the soup down to simmer.  Take out a small bowl and add a tablespoon of corn starch to a little bit of the heavy whipping cream. Mix them together to remove the lumps. Add in the cream and corn starch mix to the soup along with the rest of the heavy whipping cream.

Check the seasoning once more for salt/pepper and serve with crusty bread.

I make a huge stock pot full and freeze the leftovers in individual portions. Freezes and reheats like a champ.  Cut the recipe in half if you don't want tons of leftovers.