Primarily written by Adrienne, a homeschooling mother of seven, ages 10 and under. She chronicles life, laughs, struggles, and lessons learned as she raises a larger-than-most sized family and tries to figure out what she's doing day by day.

With occasional posts, Alexandra, Adrienne's older sister, writes of her ranch life in Nevada and raising four sons, ages 5 and under. Life is never dull and her boys have given her some pretty awesome stories to tell.

Stick around awhile, and you're sure to laugh, nod, smile, be encouraged, and see what life is like with a big (little) family.

10.06.2013

Soup Recipe: Zuppa Toscana

This recipe is one of our favorites. We grew kale in the garden this year, just because we liked it so much. Blaine even suggested canning it pre-kale in mass quantity. That has yet to happen… we eat it as fast as I make it. Leftovers are highly sought after – it reheats very well.

Be careful when stowing leftovers. Spilled soup makes you want to cry twice. At the loss, and at the greasy mess left in it’s aftermath. Not that I would know this firsthand or anything.

2 lbs. ground sausage

2 onions, diced

8-10 cloves garlic, minced

12 cups chicken stock

8-9 cups russet potatoes, cubed

2 tsps. salt (to taste)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

4-6 cups kale, washed, cut leaves off stems, discard stems and cut leaves into bite size pieces

3 cups heavy whipping cream

Garnish: Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

Directions:

In stock pot, brown and crumble sausage and onions. During the last couple minutes of cooking, add minced garlic. Once cooked, drain grease.

Pour in chicken stock and add potatoes. Cover and allow potatoes to simmer for about 15-30 minutes, until tender. Once potatoes are tender, pour in heavy cream, season with salt and pepper. Then add kale.

Stir. Bring mixture back up to a simmer and allow the kale to soften and wilt. Serve.

3 comments:

Laura's Ramblings in Color said...

Oh, it looked amazing until the cream part. (Allergies.) What do you think it would taste like without it?

Unknown said...

I think you could get away with it. It would be more broth-based and not quite so rich, but I'd try it. I boil whole chickens with seasonings and carrots, celery, onions, and garlic for 6+ hours to make my broth - that makes the broth pretty yummy all by itself. More work... bot totally worth it.

Kristin said...

Laura-- we use coconut creamer (so delicious has one) in place of cream when a recipe requires it and it works great! Just a thought!