Zuppa Toscana... Mmmmmmmm!

{Once again, please excuse the sub-par photography.}

This is seriously so good! To me it tasted just like Olive Garden's. I made a few modifications because I'm cheap...I'll tell you what they are below the recipe.

Recipe: Olive Garden Toscana Soup
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com/
Category: O - Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes
Serves/Makes: 5
Difficulty Level: 3
Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup onions, diced 1/8 inch
1 slice bacon, 1/4-inch diced
1 1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 ounce chicken bouillon (2 Tbs)
1 quart water (2 c.--I added 2 more, see below)2
medium potatoes, cut in half length-wise, then cut in 1/4-inch slices
2 cups cavallo greens (kale can be substituted), cut in half, then sliced into 1/16-inch strips
1 1/2 cup sausage link - spicy, precooked, cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Place sausage link onto sheet pan and bake in 300 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

Place onions and bacon into 3 to 4 quart saucepan and cook onions over medium heat until the onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add chicken bouillon, water and potatoes, bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients then simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.

Alterations:

Okay, so I didn't feel like buying a whole thing of bacon just for one slice. So I didn't.

Also, for some reason there was sausage in the freezer section that was way cheaper than the refrigerated kind...BUT there was no spicy in the freezer kind, so instead I got a pork and bacon kind, and added crushed red pepper flakes that I already had to make it spicy. Also, I just used the whole 1 lb. roll (a little more than it calls for).

I also added an extra potato, which let me add a whole extra 2 cups of water, stretching the soup. Also, I just cooked the sausage in the skillet and then drained the grease, instead of baking it.

Try it, it's DELICIOUS!!!!

By the way, I love that website, that this came from, cdkitchen.com. It's got lots of good recipes, including some yummy copy cat recipes (such as this one). Check it out!