Italian Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup

This is one of our favorite restaurant soups.

Once I developed a recipe we loved...my beloved said. ..."well there is another thing that we don't need to go out to eat." Almost anything you can find in a restaurant can be duplicated and often it ends up being tastier than the original. 

If you like spicy food...give this one a try.

If you want to tone down the heat of the soup..simply use mild Italian Sausage.

Another option is to add the crisp fried bacon to the crumbled fried sausage.

Either way...we like it.

Makes 4-6 servings.

• 1 lb / 450 grams bulk Hot Italian Sausage (remove casings if bulk is not available)
• 1 large onion
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1 pound  small yellow potatoes  (they will keep their shape in the soup)
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 bunch kale to make 5 cups
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• Italian cheese for topping (optional)
• 4 slices crumbled crisp fried bacon (optional)

1.  Add the Hot Italian Sausage to a large pot over medium heat and scramble fry until browned. Use a stiff egg lifter to chop it apart to form small crumbles.
2. Remove from heat and put the sausage and bacon into a colander over a bowl. Allow to drain well and then discard the fat.
3. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and fry in the same pot which has a bit of drippings from the  sausage over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
4. Add the sausage  back to the pot.
5. Scrub the potatoes and slice them with the skin on. Add the potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Slice the pepper into small pieces and break the kale into bite sized pieces. Add to the soup and simmer 10 minutes.
7. Add the evaporated milk and heat through.
8. Garnish with Italian Cheese, crumbled crisp bacon and serve with crusty bread.

Guess what?  One of our own is celebrating a milestone birthday today!  Happy Birthday Judy.

Why don't you go over to Judy's Front Porch blog and wish her a wonderful day.    I've already been there and she doesn't appear to be home...so better still write a note and she'll find it when she returns!

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