Tuscan Soup With Red Potatoes, Italian Sausage, & Kale

This is my take on a copy cat recipe to Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. It is delicious and hearty and this recipe makes a big ole pot of it, so be prepared to have left overs unless you are feeding a crowd. 

The potatoes tend to soak a lot of the broth up overnight, but when heating it up add a little extra chicken broth (or water or milk) to thin it out and it's good to go with no loss of flavor!

• 1 Large (or 2 small) Bundles of Kale, Torn into Bit Sized Pieces 
• 10 Whole Red Potatoes, Sliced Thin 
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced 
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 
• 2 Cloves of Garlic- Minced
• 1-1/2 Pounds Italian Sausage 
• 1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano 
• 2 cups Chicken Broth 
• 2 cups Whole Milk 
• 4 cups Half and Half
• Splash of Heavy Cream 
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

**Ignore the flour in the picture, there is no flour in this recipe. For some reason I had a brain fart when taking this picture and added it in. **

First tear kale into bit sized pieces and rinse with cold water. Set aside. 

Thinly slice the red potatoes

Boil sliced potatoes until tender. Drain

Heat oil over medium high heat, add minced garlic and onion and cook until slightly browned. About 3-5 minutes. 

Add italian sausage and crumble while it cooks. Drain off as much fat as possible. 

Add Whole Milk and Half and Half, let simmer for about 30 minutes. 

I like to only add about 1/3 of the kale and then save the rest of it for right before I heat up the left overs so I have some semi-crunchy kale in the soup as well as cooked kale. 

Add a splash of Heavy Cream at this point, unless you are making this soup ahead of time or for left overs, and then leave the added heavy cream for right before you eat your serving of soup. 

This soup is amazing for those cold winter nights. It's filling and warm and so delicious. Who needs to go to Olive Garden when you can whip this soup up quickly and have leftovers for many bowls to come.