Hi everyone! Did I mention that I’m Italian? And I married a German? Well, since our wedding my father-in-law has hassled me about always serving Italian dishes whenever they come over. And so tonight I was feeling a little crazy and decided to make up my very own recipe for Zuppa Toscana. I figured with the hearty combination of potatoes and Italian sausage we’d both be happy!
Of course before giving it to my father-in-law I tested it on his son and grand-children. And whoot whoot! We have a success! All the yummy goodness of Italian cuisine combined with the hearty meat and potatoes that my German in-laws love. And not only did my husband say it was delicious, but all of the kiddos liked it as well.
Except for the Teeny Tot, who didn’t like the potatoes for some reason.
Which is weird because she likes potatoes. But who knows, she’s picky.
And she ate everything else except the potatoes. Which in my opinion were the best part.
So anyway, let’s get to the goodness shall we?
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 sweet onion diced (Finely if you have little guys)
- 3 slices diced bacon (Optional)
- 5 Italian sausage links (I usually get Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage.)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 red potatoes, diced
- 1 cup frozen crinkle cut carrots
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups half-and-half (Or milk if you’re out, it still works!)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese
Directions:
- In large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat, add in onions and whole sausages. Sauté until onions are soft and sausage is browned on all sides.
- Remove sausages, slice thinly, and add back into pot.
- Sprinkle with flour and stir, then add in chicken broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add carrots, diced potatoes, and half-and-half, then simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Right before you’re ready to eat, add shredded cheese and stir until melted.
- Serve in bread bowls (or regular bowls), top with a little shredded cheese and serve immediately.
Serve with crescent rolls, or your favorite bread and enjoy! Serves about 6 people, with one serving of leftovers for moms lunch the next day!
Looks good. I made my own version of this same kind of soup. Recipe is posted on my blog under soups. I am not italian but LOVE soup and loved Olive Gardens zuppa toscana soup so I had to make my own.
Erica!! YUMMO, another delicious soup to try. Just today (I kid you not) I made your Mama’s Tortellini Soup, and dished it up to my kiddos for lunch, with some home made cheese focaccias…..OMGoodness!! A thumbs up all round. We love our soups, and this will be high on the list of our favs. When my kids knew it was yours, they thought it was cool that not only do we use your geography curriculum, and i use your ABC curric for my 4 year old, but now we’re eating your soup…HA!! They thought it was great. Grazie!!!
BTW, I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you for the awesome webinar yesterday with Amy McCready. Even tho it was the next day here in Australia, my kids were generous enough to allow me the time to participate….who am I kidding. A break from home school while mum chats online…woo hoo, bring it on, lol!! Keep up your amazing work Erica – i certainly appreciate it :))
Lil x
Yummmmmy! I’ll have to give this a try. 🙂
This looks so good! And it can be made gluten free by using GF sausage and bacon. I’m thinking for those that need to be dairy free, just use soy, rice or almond milk. YUM!!
Thanks for this. I am going to put a link on my blog to this.
Moe
I forgot to add that the cheese would need to be dairy free like the Daiya cheese :O)
Moe
Sounds amazing! I cannot wait to try. Thanks for sharing. I love all your posts!
So what did your in-laws think?
This looks so good!!