zuppa toscana soup

I thought this soup was super good- Rich didn't like it as much as I did.  Made the mistake of initially using milk instead of water in the crock pot.  It was ok for the first 2 hours, then the milk curdled and ruined the whole thing :(  so sad.  So, we drained it, went to the store, bought cream, remade the broth and put everything back in.  I thought it was great- Rich thought there was too much broth and it was too watery.

source:  http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2010/09/our-version-of-olive-gardens-zuppa.html

Our Version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

This is one of our favorite soups. It is the perfect Fall soup.. but really it is great any time of the year! If you like Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, you are going to love this (I think it tastes better than Olive Garden's.. it's not as watery). This is the same recipe Emily posted earlier except I added some bacon and onion. So if you don't prefer bacon or onion, feel free to leave them out. Anyway, this goes PERFECTLY with our Breadtwists recipe!

3 cans (14oz) Chicken Broth
2 cups whipping cream
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small onion, diced, sauteed
1/2 pkg. bacon (cooked and crumbled)
4-5 cups chopped kale
3 to 4 potatoes scrubbed and cut into slices or small chunks (skins left on)
1 lb Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (shaped into small rounds, browned, and put on paper towels to de-grease... or if you are in a rush, just brown the sausage like you would ground beef).

Put everything except for potatoes together in a large crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Add potatoes the last 40-60 minutes (if you add them too soon they will get soggy).
Serve with breadsticks (click HERE for our Breadtwist recipe).