Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Knock Off

Hey everybody!  It has been awhile since I've posted and I'm SOOOO sorry about that.  I have been moving this past month into a new home and haven't been doing much cooking lately.  I finally got things settled this week and was able to make my first homemade meal in my new house, and I think I came up with a pretty good soup you are all going to love!

If you have ever had the soup, salad, and bread sticks, at Olive Garden, I'm sure you have tried their Zuppa Toscana soup.  It is by far my favorite, and for years I have wanted to try to make it.  Being that a lot of my pans were packed up and I only had my soup pot, I thought it was a great time to try.  This soup is their creamy, sausage and potato soup.  It's the perfect winter soup, but considering I love soup all the time; I could eat this on a 90 degree day.  Anyway, here is my version of the Olive Garden's amazing soup.  I hope you all like it!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground Mild Italian Sausage

3 Russet Potatoes, scrubbed and cubed

1 Onion, chopped

1/2 lb. Bacon, cooked, drained, and chopped

3 cloves Garlic, minced

2-3 cups Swiss Chard, chopped

28 oz. Chicken Broth

1 quart Water

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tsp. Chicken Boullion

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Parsley

1/4 tsp. Pepper

Directions

In a skillet cook your sausage. Remove sausage and in the drippings cook your garlic and onion until translucent, drain and set aside.

In a pot combine your chicken broth, water, chicken boullion, spices, potatoes, and cream.  Let cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat.  Add in remaining ingredients, except swiss chard.  Simmer on medium to low heat until potatoes are soft. About 30-45 minutes 

Once the potatoes are soft, add the swiss chard and let simmer for 30 minutes. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with some thick, crusty bread, and your set.  Enjoy!