Zuppa Toscana Soup

Each year when deer season hits we have the deer hunters over.  Typically any of the wives that want to come, come too.  I host the Friday night part of the event.  This year, Hubby didn’t know if he was going to go hunting.  He doesn’t enjoy it as much as he used to.  To be honest, his age is catching up to him.  Walking through the woods with sticks and what not is hard on his knees.  He’s had a bad knee for a long time and walking through that just isn’t what he needs.  I think if he hunts again it will likely be done more in a staked hunting place rather than a clear the woods walking type of hunting.  It’s the pangs of getting older and we are.

Anyway one of the hunter’s wives brought the best soup….it’s so good.  I had to make a batch for myself.

It says, better than Olive Garden in the recipe but I’ve never been to Olive Garden so I can’t tell you if that’s true.  We try as hard as we can to never eat at chain restaurants…

Here’s the recipe…Zuppa Toscana (better than Olive Garden!)

1 lb. Italian sausage-Jimmy Dean hot worked well
4-6 russet potatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. REAL bacon pieces
2 Tbsp minced garlic-I only had garlic powder so used that.
32 oz. chicken broth-I used water and bullion
1 c. kale or Swiss chard, chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp flour

1. Brown sausage in a pan.
2. Place sausage, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat.
3. Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

IF YOU ARE IN A HURRY LIKE I WAS, JUST COOK IT ALL ON THE STOVE!  I didn’t use the crock pot at all.

30 minutes before serving:
4. Mix flour into cream removing lumps.
5. Add cream, kale, and bacon to the crock pot, stir.
6. Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.
7. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

It was really yummy.  Play with the recipe to suit your needs.  I’m a cheap skate and didn’t want to buy two pound of sausage for doubling the recipe so I used one pound of hot and one of our own sausage.  Then I added extra cayenne.  It was still really good.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  It’s perfect for this time of year when you’re getting together with family.  You can have it in the crock pot and ready to go.  Thanks so much for sharing this Sue.