TOSCANA SOUP

Last fall, I began posting some of my family's favorite soup recipes. With another fall at hand, soup is frequently on the menu again. Let's see, I've posted Tortellini Vegetable Soup, Suzanne's Chili, Black Bean Soup, and Hearty Potato Soup. Well, here is yet another yummy soup recipe, one I picked up from Ashley over at her blog about a year ago. This soup is deliciously spicy and so pretty - I love the bright green of the kale.

TOSCANA SOUP
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
1 quart water
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth (about 3 and 2/3 cups)
2 large red potatoes, scrubbed & cubed
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chopped kale
1 cup half-&-half
salt and pepper to taste

Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside to drain on paper towels. Combine water, chicken broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in soup pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just tender. Add sausage and simmer for 10 minutes more. Add kale and half-&-half, and simmer until warm throughout. Delicious served with hot, crusty bread!

(Note: When I boil chicken for a casserole, chicken salad, etc., I save the broth and freeze it to use later. I use this instead of the canned broth listed above and it works great. And of course, when we make Toscana soup, we make a monster-sized pot full!)

Is this my first-ever Thursday post?!