Zuppa Toscana

Seriously, this soup is delicious. It does have a taste a little like biscuits and gravy {due to the sausage and cream} but it is fantastic! Took me about an hour start to finish, with just minimal stirring and adding ingredients. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble of making it, you can just buy it at Olive Garden. {Yes, my goal in life is to be able to make everything better than Olive Garden so I never have to overpay for pasta, salad and breadsticks again.}

*Dutch Oven is just a large pan that can fit the soup in it. Use the largest one you have.

Zuppa Toscana

• 1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 oz) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ bunch fresh spinach or kale

1. Cook the Italian sausage in a Dutch oven* over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.