Zuppa Toscana Soup (Crock Pot)

We were looking for a good soup recipe last week and found this one on a website called Just a Pinch. It does taste a lot like Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, which has always been a favorite of mine, and it serves a lot! We enjoyed it with freshly made bread and it was awesome. It did take a while to make but it was worth it.

Zuppa Toscana Soup (Crock Pot)

Ingredients:

• 14 oz of spicy andouille sausage
• 2 large potatoes (cut in half and then quartered)
• 1 yellow onion (chopped)
• 3 strips of cooked bacon (crumbled)
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 16 oz of chicken broth
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups of kale (chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop the sausage into bite-size pieces -- cutting lengthwise first then into 1/2 inch slices. 
2. Brown the sausage links in a skillet.
3. While browning the sausage, cook the bacon in a skillet. 
4. Chop the potatoes (first in half, then quartered) and onions. 
5. After sausage and bacon were cooked and the potatoes and onions are chopped, add the sausage, bacon, potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and water to the crockpot (if you have a smaller crockpot, you may want to add less water). 
6. Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours until the potatoes are cooked and soft. 
7. Shortly before serving wash and chop the kale. About 5-10 minutes before serving, turn the crockpot to "Warm" and add kale and whipping cream to the crockpot. 
8. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!