Mmmmmm Soup!

Last night we had a good friend, Martin Phillips visit us from TEXAS! It was soo good to see him, and catch up and hear about all his adventures down in Tyler's old stompin grounds. So, because I love to play hostess, I decided I'd make dinner, using a recipe that I'd never used before. Why I do that to myself I don't know. You'd think the smart thing to do would be to use something that is tried and true. But no, more often than not, I like to freak myself out a little and make a brand new dish when we have company. Maybe its the thrill of not knowing if its going to taste good until we're all sitting around the table, its a stupid thrill really, but it gets me excited. Someday when I do this, probably the last time, its going to be disgusting and my guests will cringe, I'll cry and Tyler will say something like "oh just add a little bacon, it'll taste great then!" But this was not the case last night....

I made the ever famous Olive Garden Soup "Zuppa Toscana" (translate and pronounce at your own risk) Side note: being a waitress for almost 3 years, 3 very long years.....I always had a sick pleasure at correcting people on the pronunciation of certain words on our menu. In an instant you could make a grown man feel like he's three years old, see I told you its a sick pleasure..so when at Olive Garden with their "italian" words....I like to play a little "correct me if you dare" game with the server...

I got this recipe from my friend Aisha, who also got it from someone...but really this recipe is all over the world wide web. Seems with our economic downfall people are trying to recreate their favorite restaurant dishes at home. I say WAY TO GO PEOPLE!

And of course, because I can NEVER follow a recipe with out changing it in at least the slightest....I made a few modifications.

Without further adieu...

Zuppa Toscana

1lb sausage (I used the smoked sausage we were recently given)
2 potatoes, Thinly sliced with the skins ON (minerals people!)
1 medium onion (does anyone really know what a "medium, or large" onion really looks like for that matter? I don't know, just chop up about a handish full or more of onion depending on your onion likeness.
6 slices bacon I didn't use any bacon, don't tell Tyler, he'll cry
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 cups kale – washed, dried, and chopped (Another side note: Tyler is now the "produce guy at Save-A-Lot grocery store, and since I needed Kale for this soup, I texted him and asked if they had it....he proceeded to ask his manager if they carried "call A"? The manager said you mean K-ale? "Uh yeah, Kale, some lady asked for it" LOL (Mom, does this remind you of "speg noodles"?
2 cans of Chicken Broth (I used low sodium because of the sausage)
1 quart water
1 cup half & half

Cook and crumble sausage in a stock pot (drain it if its really fatty)
Add onion, potatoes, garlic, chicken broth, water and salt and pepper.
Cook until potatoes are done. (I let it simmer for about 30-40 mins) Add Kale and cream and heat through, or until kale is a little soft.
Serve!
It was delicious and I hope, if you make it you'll enjoy it just as much!

Happy Weekend!