Olive garden is our family's favourite restaurant. We go there almost every month. My kids eat only Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden. That's their only favourite dish. I always thought of making that soup at home. How difficult would that be? It seemed to have potatoes, Italian sausage, kale and heavy cream. But I never tried it until I found one recipe on the Internet. My kids are my biggest critics. They think that I can't cook (and they say that now that I have joined a culinery school, I am proving their point!). I didn't want to make the soup only for kids to make negative comments such as...."This does not taste like Olive Garden Mom" or "It doesn't look right". So, I decided to take a different approach this time. I asked them to help me in the kitchen. We bought the groceries together and made Zuppa Toscana. Kids loved it! Here is that simple recipe. Try it...you will love it too!
Ingredients
1 lb Italian sausage (I choose mild sausage for kids)
2 large russet baking potatoes or red potatoes, sliced in half,and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
Bacon bits (I microwave 3-4 ready to eat bacon strips for this)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use less garlic as my kids don't like garlic much)
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
3. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
4. Add sausage and bacon.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Turn to low heat.
8. Add kale and cream.
9. Heat through and serve.
Try this recipe and let me know how it was!
