Italian Sausage Soup (like Olive Garden's)

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers (you can also use hot Italian sausage and less crushed peppers)

1 large diced white onion

4 slices bacon, diced

2 tsp garlic puree or 2 cloves minced garlic

10 cups chicken stock (or canned chicken broth)

1 cup heavy cream (or half & half, or whole milk — and yes, it's fattening, but you can splurge)

1 lb Russet potatoes (about 3 large potatoes) peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and then into ¼” thick slices

¼ of a bunch of kale, tough ribs removed, leaves shredded

1.  Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat and remove sausage from the pan and set aside.

2.  In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic until the onions are soft but not browned.

3.  Add chicken stock to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.

4.  Add potatoes and cook until the slices are soft but still hold their shape.

5.  Add heavy cream (or half & half, or whole milk….) and cook until thoroughly heated.

6.  Stir in the sausage.

7.  Add shredded kale just before serving.

The soup is great served with garlic bread. The soup's flavor and texture are better if you use whole milk, cream or half & half, but you can use non-fat milk. The soup won't be as rich and silky with non-fat or low fat milk, but it will still be good.

Im adding this stuff to my grocery list! Wonder how spinich would be instead of kale. Of course cant get that around here in my dinky grocery store.

In fresh we have a choice of iceberg or leaf lettuce and cabbage. Spinich comes in the premade salad bags. Isnt that sad? Our whole produce isle is maybe 20ft on both sides thats for fruits and veggies.

We ate at Olive Garden recently, and funny thing is, I like this recipe better than the soup they sell.  I like adding extra crushed red pepper to spice it up.