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Monday, December 7, 2015

ZUPPA TOSCANA (OLIVE GARDEN COPY CAT)

Makes 4-6 servings
Ideal slow cooker size:  4-5 quart
Cooking time:  6 hours on low, 3 hours on high

1 lb ground Italian sausage (I used mild)
4 cups chicken broth (or if you're in a pinch use 4 cups of water with 4 tsp of chicken bouillon)
1 cup water
1/4 cup diced onion
3 large russet potatoes, cubed (I left the skins on mine and it tasted great, but peel if you prefer)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup real bacon bits, plus more for topping (I just use the packaged bacon bits for convenience, but if you want to fry up some bacon and crumble it that would be awesome)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 bunch of Kale
Parmesan cheese, for topping

1.  In a pan, over medium high heat brown the ground sausage until well done.  Drain off all grease and place sausage in a colander.  Rinse the sausage with very hot water to get as much grease off as possible.  Add the rinsed sausage to the slow cooker.
2.  Add broth, water, onion, potatoes and garlic to the slow cooker.
3.  Cover and cook on LOW for about 6 hours, or until potatoes are tender.  You can also cook on HIGH for about 3-4 hours.
4.  Stir in 1/3 cup bacon bits.  Warm the cream and then add it to the slow cooker (to prevent curdling make sure it's warm). 
5.  Cut up kale into coarse pieces* (I liked my pieces kind of large and chunky but if you like them more indiscernible cut them small) and add to the slow cooker.
6.  Ladle into serving bowls and top with extra bacon bits and Parmesan cheese.

*I lay a piece of kale on a cutting board and then cut off the leaf portion and discard the rib and stem.  It's kind of time consuming but the stem is bitter and tough...you won't want to eat it.

Recipe Credit: 365 Days of Slow Cooking

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