Zuppa Toscana

Well it's been too long between updates so I thought that I had better get on the ball and post something fun.


I recently went to a Pampered Chef party at Anita's, one of the girls that I work with, and she served a salad, soup and homemade bread.

The salad was very good and it was a Pampered Chef recipe that had lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, carrots, strawberries and blueberries and the dressing was a mixture of orange zest, orange juice, honey, rice wine vinegar and olive oil. This is what the PC lady demonstrated.


Anita also made homemade bread served with REAL butter! Now we could just stop right there as I am a butter fiend but haven't had it for quite a while since I found out my cholesterol is a little on the high side but that's another story. She made a rosemary flax bread and fresh baked white dinner rolls. Both were equally great!


The soup was really the star of the party though! This soup is called Zuppa Toscana and my friend said she found it on the Internet. I liked it so much that I asked if she would share the recipe with me and she said yes, so of course I had to run out and buy everything for it and make it. My man absolutely LOVED it as it is a tad bit on the spicy side and he is all about spicy! Don't get scared by me saying it's spicy, if you know me you know I can not handle any real spice but this soup is has just the right amount of spice for me. I thought I'd share the recipe with you!


Zuppa Toscana


1 lb ground Italian Sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 large white onion, diced
3 slices bacon, cut small
2 tsp Garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes Chicken Bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb russet potatoes sliced
bunch of Kale, chopped and discard the stem

1. Saute sausage and red peppers in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while preparing other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, saute the bacon, onions and garlic over low-med heat. (about 15 mins or until soft)
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the post and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add sliced potatoes and cook just until soft, about 20 minutes.
5. Add heavy cream, cook until thoroughly blended. Stir in sausage and Kale, heat through.
Note: I used mild Italian Sausage and only used 1 tsp of the red pepper but if you like it more spicy use the hot sausage and all the red peppers.

Here's what it looks like:

I hope you try this and like it as much as we do!