See...I've struggled with depression, anxiety and a lack of self confidence for as long as I can remember and for reasons I'd rather not remember. Every other week I tell myself "I'm READY to do this now! I'm not going to put it off anymore! I CAN DO THIS!!!), then "something" comes up and well, I'm still blogless.
So as I was sitting with my THREE 5 year olds watching Frozen (for the UMPTEENTH time) I started to actually pay attention, Elsa started to sing her song and the words spoke to me so clearly: "A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I'm the queen." When my anxiety starts to build up and I'm feeling a little less than enthusiastic about life, I completely isolate myself, I don't leave the house unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and I begin the process of picking myself apart. NO MORE! Well at least not tonight. This post may not be pretty or flashy and might not even be read, but I did it! And oh boy does it leave me feeling WIDE OPEN! I've never really talked about my 'issues' with anyone before (except my bestie, he knows alllll of my little 'ticks') and now here I am putting it all out for the world to see. Can you say scary!! However, in the midst of all of the negativity I feed myself throughout any given day, I also try to send some positive vibes up to that brain of mine. Hence that little quote that is slowly forcing me to change my life, "When life gives you lemons, make GRAPE juice and watch the world wonder how you did it!" Doesn't it make you want to jump up and do something AMAZING?! That's the affect is has on me every time I read it.
In the past few years, I have begun to explore my creative side, learning new cooking and baking techniques, crafting like crazy and even building furniture. I LOVE this side of me! I want to use this blog as an avenue to share my creations and hopefully inspire others. And so.. as a nice little welcome to my new blog, I have decided to share my FAV soup recipe with you. Hope you enjoy!
Until next time..
T
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Hack (vegetarian version too):
Ingredients (did I mention that I rarely measure anything):
Regular Version
- 10 (ish) cups of chicken broth
- 6 large potatoes
- 1pk sweet or spicy italian sausage
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- bacon
- kale
- crushed red peppers (to taste)
- heavy cream (about 2 quarts)
Veggie Version
- 10 (ish) cups of vegetable broth (Trader Joes, Whole Foods)
- 6 large potatoes
- 2pks vegetarian italian sausage
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- veggie bacon
- kale
- crushed red peppers
- salt, pepper
- soy creamer
Step 1. Wash, cut and cook potatoes
I like to use red potatoes because they're creamier but regular brown potatoes would work just the same. I like to leave the skin on and slice them into little medallions.
Step 2. Slice and cook onions and garlic
I like to make the onions very small because my little ones will NOT eat a big fat crunchy onion, so slice them however you like them and saute until they're nice and soft.
Step 3. Cook the sausage
Cook in a separate pan from the onions and garlic and make sure you squeeze the sausage out of the casing and cook it that way (like ground beef). It's much better this way. Trust me.
Step 4. Cook the bacon
Sometimes I'll just cook the bacon with the sausage, but however you cook it, make sure it's crispy. Somehow I forgot to take a picture of this step, but hopefully you all know how to cook bacon (am I wrong?)
Step 5. Pour broth into large pot and add ingredients
Set the heat to medium and allow the broth to get warmed up. I usually set everything in the pot while it warms so that it all of the flavors will mix.
Step 6. Bring to slight boil
Let the soup come to a slight boil and then add the kale (as much or as little as you like). Let soup return to slight boil once more and then remove from heat.
Step 7. Add creamer
Add the creamer ONLY after the soup has cooled a bit to avoid curdling. The creamer is what really sets this soup apart, so make sure you don't ruin it by pouring it in there too quickly. I like to add about 2 quarts of creamer to my soup, but it only requires 1. Experiment and ENJOY!
