Speaking of food, I noticed that I forgot to post this last week. Who else is addicted to cooking just to photograph???

I found a recipe for the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana & decided to give it a whirl. The end result was absolutely delicious & much better that the hurried composition of this shot.

It took about 1.5 hours to make & was pretty simple. Next time, I make it, I will modify the recipe slightly to make it healthier & substitute the Italian sausage for turkey sausage less cream & no bacon. Well, maybe I won’t mess up a good thing!

Ingredients:
– 1.5lb ground Italian sausage
– 1.5tsp crushed red peppers
– 3-4 leeks sliced?- 1 red pepper diced
– 2 tsp minced garlic?- 3 cups water
– 4 chicken broth
– 1 cup heavy cream
– 2lb sliced large potatoes
– Bunch of kale or collard greens (no stems, yuck!)

Procedure:
– Sautée Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in large pot or Dutch oven. Drain excess fat (I usually don’t, just depends
– In the same pot, sautée onions, red pepper, and garlic until the onions are soft
– Toss in your sliced potatoes
– Add your liquid, which should just about cover all the goods in the pot & bring to a nice boil (10 minutes)
– Add sea salt, fresh black pepper, red chili flakes, cumin (maybe your favorite secret spices as well)
– Turn your heat down to a low simmer for about an hour or hour & a half covered being sure to stir every so often.
– Add heavy cream and keep on heat until thoroughly heated

Serving:
– Chiffonade your collard greens of kale then toss in a nice amount to cover the bottom of your bowl.
– Pour in some of your hot soup into the bowl to cover your green, which will wilt the greens and make them tender yet they will still have some crunch to them. I usually let my hot soup sit for a few minutes.
– Enjoy!

My kids really enjoyed this & it made enough for a family of 5 for two nights.

Bygbaby.com Mindspill