Zuppa Toscana (like Olive Garden)

I needed to use up some spinach and potatoes and I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.  It's Tim's favorite when we go to Olive Garden so I hope he likes it!  I think it tastes pretty similar!  I would give this a 5 for the sheer fact that my kids ate it!  My changes or notes are in red.

Ingredients

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage

1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes  (I used less but it still had a kick to it)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used refrigerated bacon bits)

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth

6 potato, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half and just added a little extra)

1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used baby spinach)

Directions

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. (I don't have a dutch oven, I just used a large pot)

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. (Since I wasn't cooking any bacon I just left the sausage in the pot and cooked the bacon bits, onions and garlic all together)

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.