Happy Monday everyone! I hope you've gotten off to a good start this week.
Everything is melting here in West Michigan and it honestly looks DISGUSTING. Unfortunately I know that this thaw will only last for a little bit before we get even MORE snow. But my husband and I are about to get out of dodge and enjoy some gorgeous scenes in the Colorado mountains!
Tonight we are headed to Chicago to catch an early morning flight out West. We like to take a ski trip out West every year to ski the REAL mountains: not these wimpy hills in Michigan. Today is full of running around the house, packing, and trying to rack my brain for every single thing I could ever want or dream of needing on a plane.
But just because I'm busy doesn't mean I will neglect my blogging duties!
Today I wanted to share a soup with you all that is SO yummy, SO versatile, and SO easy, it is definitely in my top 5 recipes of all time: TOSCANA SOUP.
This delicious soup comes to us today courtesy of Cooking Classy! This is a potato based soup filled with hearty creams, kale, pepper, and sausage. I have even read online that it is a crowd favorite at Olive Garden, which in my opinion, is the best chain restaurant to have ever existed.
The thing I love about this soup is that you can make it dairy free by using coconut milk, so even our allergy prone relatives can enjoy!
As far as the protein in the soup, it works really well with almost any spiced sausage. If I'm in a pinch, I will whip this soup up with some Bob Evans breakfast sausage, and it honestly tastes amazing! I usually exclude the bacon for a less calorie dense version, but I would highly encourage you make it any way you want!
Here you go!
Toscana Soup by Jaclyn from Cooking Classy
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage (casings removed if necessary)
4 oz bacon (about 4 slices)
diced into small pieces*1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed then sliced into halves, halves diced into 1/6-inch slices
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk (you can substitute for coconut milk)
1 1/2 cups packed chopped kale
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan.
Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside.
Add diced bacon to saucepan, return to heat and saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced onions and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes longer.
Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, sugar, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cooked sausage. Cover saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.
Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 - 10 minutes longer. Stir in half and half and warm through. Use a spoon or ladle to remove excess fat from top of soup if desired. Serve warm!