Zuppa Toscana Clone (Olive Garden Clone)

Roger and I love pretty much all of the soups that The Olive Garden makes. The Zuppa Toscana is his favorite so he decided to make this one for the week.  We aren't sure what to do with the leftover kale, so leave some ideas in the comments if you have any recipes that use kale.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Clone)
makes 14 2-cup servings 
about 400 calories per serving

2 lbs. Italian sausage

4 large russet potatoes

1 large onion

2 strips bacon

4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed 

3 cups chopped kale

64 oz. chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

Salt

Pepper

Fennel

Chop bacon strips. Brown Italian sausage and bacon in soup pot. Season lightly with pepper and fennel. Remove meat from pot and add onions.

Cook onions until tender then add chicken broth, bring to boil.

Meanwhile Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then into quarter-inch slices, add potatoes and garlic to soup when boiling. Return to simmer. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 

 Return meats to soup. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Return to simmer. 

Trim stem away from the kale. Add kale and cream to soup. 

Spicy Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This soup was like Thanksgiving in my mouth. In fact, we plan on recreating this soup with turkey instead of chicken in November. I was glad to relive Thanksgiving since it's my favorite holiday.

You will have to clean more than one pot, an oven pan and the blender before its done, but it's worth it. The key ingredient for this soup is the crushed red pepper. It had this nice spice that offset the creamy goodness of the squash. Make this soup if you like butternut squash, you love Thanksgiving like me, or if you just enjoy delicious soup.

Spicy Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
makes 14 2-cup servings 
about 350 calories per serving


5lbs. butternut squash
2 cups diced sweet onions
1 bunch chopped green onion
2 carrots peeled and diced
3 lbs. split chicken breasts with bones and skin
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup heavy cream
olive oil
crushed red pepper
salt 
pepper


Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Season exposed flesh with salt and pepper and drizzle a small amount of olive oil on cut edges. Place squash face down on a baking sheet and roast until soft, roughly 1 hour.


While squash is roasting, trim excess fat and skin from chicken and season well with salt and pepper. Place chicken in pot with at least 6 cups of water; bring to just below boiling and hold for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool. Reserve chicken stock; do not dump.


Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool.


In large sauce pan, heat butter and cook sweet onions and carrots over medium heat until tender. Scoop squash flesh from shell into saucepan then add 2 cups of the remaining chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a slow simmer. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Continue simmering for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Ladle into blender and purée.


Transfer purée into a stockpot. Add 4 additional cups of reserved chicken stock. Bring to a slow simmer and add green onion and cream. 


Remove skin and bones then cube the chicken into bite size pieces or shred if preferred. Add chicken to soup and allow it to simmer for 25 minutes before serving.