Zuppa Toscana

  I recently joined a produce co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  It's one of those "pool your money and everyone gets some stuff" places.  This past Saturday was the first time I participated and picked up my bounty.   It was pretty awesome.  For $10, I got a laundry basket full of stuff.  
A bag of potatoes, a bag plus 2 loose onions, lettuce, kale, melon, bananas, beets, apples, kiwi, mushrooms, tomatoes, and strawberries.  Pretty good haul.

But then the question arose.  What do I do with it now?

Enter the Olive Garden.  They are one of my most favorite places to eat.  One of mine and my boyfriend's favorite things to order are the soup, salad and bread sticks.  And, one of the soups I often order is the Zuppa Toscana.

Lo' and behold-  I have most of those ingredients right there!   So, a homemade version was in order.  To be honest, I think it turned out better than the restaurant's!!  I served it with some Pillsbury crescent rolls.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey sausage (I used ground turkey and threw a bunch of garlic powder, basil, oregano and parsley in it), cooked and drained
• 2 potatoes, cut into very thin slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon)
• 1&1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups kale- washed, dried and shredded
• 1 15-ounce can of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2&1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup fat-free half & half

Directions:

1. Cook bacon until crisp.  Crumble and set aside.
2. Place onion in a large saucepan and cook over medium high heat until almost clear.  Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.
3. Add chicken broth, water and potatoes.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Add bacon crumbles, sausage, kale and half & half.   Simmer for about 4 more minutes. 
5. Serve hot with bread!