And our favorite soup...with a low carb option

Sausage and Potato Soup

My husband LOVES Zuppa Toscana soup that Olive Garden serves, and I have been trying for a long time to replicate that recipe with little success. I have this one , which he says is not quite the same, but still tastes good, so we'll stick with it. Zuppa Toscana has Kale in it, and I rarely remember to buy that at the store. It tastes fine without it, so don't worry if you don't have it. I can say, from experience, that putting celery in it...not so yummy. And I am a big fan of celery in soup. :(

Sausage and Potato Soup

1 small onion

6 potatoes (have also used turnip/parsnips..tastes great)

1 Tube of Spicy sausage (if you are sensitive to spicy food use regular sausage)

3-4 cloves of garlic - minced (or grated)

1-2 containers of chicken broth

Half a stick of butter

Dash of heavy cream

Start the onion cooking in a large skillet with butter. Meanwhile, I cut up the potatoes/turnips/parsnips..usually a combination of them all.  (If you are skipping carbs like potatoes, turnips are best option. They take on the soup's flavor best.) Sometimes I also add more because I really like the bulk. Put those in a stock pot large enough to cook soup in.

Once the onions are softened, I put those into the pot with the potatoes and get the sausage started browning in the same skillet. I grate the garlic into the sausage and cook both together until sausage is cooked through. Add to pot with potatoes and onions.

Next add enough chicken stock to the pot to cover all the ingredients and cook until potatoes are soft.
Add the butter, kale (if using) and cream and cook until Kale is ready. Usually only a few minutes. 

Serve it while it's hot (but be careful IT'S HOT) :)

Thank you to my friend Lori for getting me started on this one. She makes a TON of it and would bring it to work for everyone to enjoy. :)

This is before cream and butter is added. 

And after butter and cream are added in.