Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat)

INGREDIENTS: 1 pound ground Italian sausage (I recommend spicy)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium white onion, peeled and diced

1.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

5 to 6 cups chicken stock

2 to 3 cups chopped fresh kale

1 cup heavy whipping cream

fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

6 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook sausage in a large stockpot over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, breaking the sausage into small pieces as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a separate plate, reserving 1 tablespoon grease in the stockpot for later*, and discarding the excess grease. Set aside. Jodi's addition* While you're cooking sausage, prep your kale. Use your fingers to 'scrub' the leaves and rinse off debris. Fold the leaves in half and cut out the main stem. Towards the top of the leaves, it's smaller in diameter, but personally I don't like the hard crunches in my soup.

Add onions to the stockpot (with the grease), and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic, and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Add the diced potatoes, chicken stock, and cooked sausage, and continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the kale and cream, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm, garnished with the bacon bits. *Also some toasted baguette or sour dough is a nice touch!!

*If you want a slow cooker version, follow the link below and there is an option for crock pot soup at the bottom of the page :)

Credit to: www.gimmesomeoven.com/zuppa-toscana-a-la-olive-garden/#tasty-recipes-67429-jump-target