Zuppa Toscana crock pot

I am a sucker for a good crockpot meal.  I think it’s because I am a naturally lazy person.  They make me feel like I am not ACTUALLY making dinner. Just a little prep work, and toss the ingredients into the slow cooker. I think the best part is that I can be busy, or even gone all day and still come home to a nice warm meal.  

A few years ago Charlie was a little obsessed with Olive Garden.  Ok, A LOT.  He would go there at least 3 times a week(with customers--so, he had good reason)  Anyways, he would always rave about this meal or that dish that he had. Seriously, he enjoyed himself a little too much. That is the first time he has EVER gained weight and had a little pooch from eating all that Italian goodness.

I ran into a copycat recipe for Zuppa Toscana and even though I hardly ever think copycat recipes actually taste like the original, I can hardly ever resist the urge to try them.  I had all the ingredients on hand for this and so I just couldn’t say no.  

Stinking Pinterest got me again!  

Guess what?  I have never had this soup from Olive Garden, so I had nothing to compare it to,but I thought it was pretty good, Charlie went back for seconds and Boston even finished his, which is a BIG deal.  I think it’s a winner!!

I was running and moving so fast that I didn't even get a picture, so this is from myrecipes.com where I got the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage (spicy)

4-6 russet potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes

1 onion, chopped

4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

32 ounces chicken broth

1/2 bunch kale (or swiss chard), de-stemmed and cut/torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup almond milk 

2 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper to taste-if you have saffron, use a pinch of that instead

Preparation:

1. Brown sausage in a sauté pan.

2. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut slices.

3. Place sausage, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat.

4. Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

30 minutes before serving:

5. Mix flour into almond milk removing lumps.

6. Add milk mixture and kale to the crock pot, stir.

7. Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.

8. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

9. Top with bacon immediately before serving