Tag Archives: potatoes

Homemade Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Homemade Zuppa Toscana Soup

When the weather turns the heart starts to crave soup! And when life is crazy there isn’t much easier to whip up and serve than a pot of soup. But in this house a soup that is served for dinner must eat like a meal!

This is a soup I crave, especially when I was pregnant;). But between being gluten free and the husband not being a giant fan of going out to dinner for pasta, I had to find a way to make this soup! I finally found a recipe and I was stoked! It is easy, quick and fairly cheap.

Ingredients:
1lb Italian Sausage (I use the Italian Sausage from the Meat Market, 2 links)
2 large Russet Baking Potatoes sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large Onion, chopped
3 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 cups Kale or Swiss Chard, chopped
2 cans Chicken Broth
1 qt Water
1 c Heavy Whipping Cream

Process:
Cook your sausage. I remove the casing and then fry it. You could also bake for 1/2 hour at 300 degrees and then cut into slices.

Put your onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in the pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn on low heat, add kale and cream. Heat through and serve!

I serve this fabulous soup with my Brazilian Cheese Rolls and a salad. The rolls are gluten free and cheesy and so tasty too!

The Best Mashed Potatoes!

So I tried something new this year when it came to mashed potatoes. First off I used Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 1/2lbs) and then I just peeled and boiled them like normal. Then I dumped them in the colander to drain them and then I let them just sit there for a few minutes while the excess water worked its way out. Then I dumped them into my KitchenAid Mixer and added about 1/2 cup of 2% milk and 2-3 ounces of Brie cheese. Then I put the spurs to it.

Now I have had the mashed potatoes with all the sour cream, creamed cheese and whole milk and these were better. While brie seems a bit decadent just remember that you are just adding a little bit versus recipes that call for both cream cheese and sour cream. I have also found that brie isn’t that expensive. Today I saw it for less that $5 a pound.

All said, they were delectable. Even my nephew who doesn’t really like cheese loved these potatoes!