Better Than Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

I am this close to a trifecta my friends!  I present to you "Better Than Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana".  The name pretty much says it all...it IS better than the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden.  I am working on finding a fabulous salad dressing for the "Better Than Olive Garden's Salad".  I already have the breadsticks that I think are way better than Olive Garden's, found HERE.  Don't wait to make this one, it is SCRUMPTIOUS!

Better Than Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana
Recipe Source:  Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock
• 3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups kale, washed and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain the grease. Add the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Once sausage is browned and crumbled, remove sausage and drain off grease leaving a tbsp to saute the onion.
Add the onion to the pan; saute until translucent; add garlic; saute until fragrant.  Add the bacon and sausage back into the pot.
Stir in the stock and potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add kale and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a simmer. Top with Parmesan cheese, when serving.

This recipe has been linked up to:
This Chick Cooks
The Country Cook
Tidy Mom
SImply Sweet Home
Eat at Home

Roasted Veggies and Sausage - ONE POT LOVIN'

It is FREEZING here in ol' NC!  I mean, Denver is looking like a tropical getaway type of freezing!  Truth be told though, I am loving cooking and baking things in the oven without having to run the AC at the same time.  This dish is a definite winter staple and a favorite in our house.  Not only is it super simple to prepare, but it is completely versatile depending on tastes, mood, and/or what you have in your fridge.  So I am sharing it with you today as not a "follow-the-rules-or-else" recipe, but more of a guide that you can TWEEK as you like it. 
It is fabulous and kick yourself easy, so give it a whirl. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red or gold potatoes, halved and sliced about 1/2" thick
• 2 packages whole mushrooms, 8-10 ounces each.  If they are large, go ahead and halve them.
• 2 red bell peppers, chunked up into large bite sized pieces.
• 1 large red onion, chunked up into large bite sized pieces.
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Enough to coat all veggies thoroughly.
• 1 TBSP Montreal Steak Seasoning.  That stuff is magic in a jar I tell you.
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 4 TBSP butter (optional)
• 2 packages, 14 ounces each, Smoked and/or Kielbasa sausage.  Feel free to use Turkey Sausage, gobble, gobble.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large roasting pan, combine all the veggies and toss with 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil to ensure even coating.  If all the pieces aren't thoroughly coated, add a little more oil, up to 1/2 cup TOTAL.  Sprinkle Montreal Steak Seasoning and garlic salt.  Use your hands again to toss well to make sure all veggies have some seasoning on it.  If you are in the butter is NOT optional camp, dot the top of veggies with butter.


BEFORE -
Make sure all the veggies are somewhat the same size to ensure even cooking


Cover roasting pan with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes.
Cut up sausage into single serving pieces, not bite sized, and set aside.
Once the initial 30 minute cook time is completed, remove from oven and remove foil carefully so you don't get a steam burn.  Place sausage on top of veggies and return to the oven with no foil on top.  Cook an additional 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and sausage is warmed thoroughly.
There you have it...easy peasy!
Once you pull it out of the oven, crack your oven door and use the heat you already paid for to help heat the house!
Stay warm my friends!

This recipe has been linked to:
Nikkis Nifty Knacks
Eat at Home Cooks

Cheeseburger Soup

Now that it is officially September, I think I speak for everyone when I say "bring on the comfort food"!  This soup was SO yummy!  I had never made or tasted Cheeseburger Soup before, but it sounded intriguing.  After looking at a couple different recipes, and doing some combining, tweaking, substituting, and short-cutting, here is what I came up with. It reminds me of a yummy Loaded Baked Potato Soup with hamburger in it...definitely stick to your ribs.  I rounded out this meal with some Homemade Breadsticks and a Ranch Wedge Salad.  SCRUMPTIOUS!  Once you are ready to make some soup, don't hesitate to try this one!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound hamburger
• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced green or red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 24 ounces roasted cubed potatoes (3-4 cups)   I used the Trader Joe's frozen Roasted Potatoes.  I cannot speak to other brands, but if I was making without that convenience item, I would place cubed potatoes, in a bowl and toss with olive oil until evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in a 450 degree oven until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
• 1 tsp dried Basil
• 1 tsp dried Parsley
• 2 TBSP butter, melted
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 10 ounces Velveeta (sorry, just no getting around how this stuff melts), cubed

In a skillet, brown hamburger and bacon.  Add minced garlic and cook an additional minute.  Drain excess grease. 
Saute onions, peppers, and celery in skillet with 2 TBSP extra virgin olive until slightly soft, about 1-2 minutes.  Add frozen potatoes and cook until crispy on outside.  If using potatoes you roasted in the oven, continue sauteing veggies until soft and go to next step.
Add meat mixture, potatoes and veggies to a stock pot.  Add chicken broth and dried herbs bringing to a boil.
In a separate bowl, mix together melted butter, milk, and flour until smooth.  Gradually pour milk mixture into boiling soup, gently stirring, reduce to simmer.  Add cheese and let cook until melted, stirring once in a while so bottom doesn't burn.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.  Salt and Pepper to taste.
ENJOY!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Nikki's Nifty Knacks
Frou Frou Decor
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
Mommy's Kitchen
Delightful Country Cookin'
The Country Cook

PW's Crash Hot Potatoes

So, say "I" if you have never heard of Pioneer Woman...(((chirp, chirp))) Yeah, that's what I thought, of course you have! She ROCKS!

PW's Crash Hot Potatoes are one of those recipes that is truely so simple that you get the taste of the ingredients...nothing processed, nothing over the top or complicated. Simple and delicious. The thing I LOVE about these is the twist on how you cook them. I am a texture person and this not only gives you GREAT taste but you get crispy, crunchy, and tender all in the same bite. Don't let the simplicity of the ingredients make you hesitate. Seriously, try these hot little Austrailian babies!

Ingredients

• 12 (depending on how may you would like to make) whole New Potatoes (or other small round potatoes. Yukon Gold would be divine!)
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Rosemary (or other herb of choice) finely minced, to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil and place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room in between each potato.
With a potato masher, press down each potato until it mashes slightly (go about half-way to 3/4 the way through the potato). Rotate the masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of eached crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle each potato with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a sprinkle of finely minced Rosemary. Don't be shy about it!
Move oven tray to 2nd-to-the-top shelf position. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.


This recipe has been linked up at:
This Chick Cooks