Zuppa Toscana

I know.  I know.  It's getting warmer outside, turning into Spring even, but I still {HEART} soups.  I'm a year-round soup eater.  This soup.  It has to be one of my all-time favorites, too.  I first fell in love with it at Olive Garden.  Then a couple of years ago my Sister-in-Law introduced me to kale.  It's been love ever since.  I {HEART} kale!  What's so awesome about this soup is how incredibly easy it is and how amazing the flavors are!  It tastes EXACTLY the same as Olive Garden's version.  Normally it wouldn't be purple, either.  I substituted Salad Savoy I got one week from my Bountiful Baskets Co-op Produce basket since they're basically in the same family...and it just brightened my soup up, too!


{zuppa toscana}
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!

Serves 6-8.

{Photos of step-by-step directions}

Cabbage-Burger Bake

I have to say that this recipe is one of our family favorites. It doesn't picture well, but oh man! It tastes fantastic! So, if the pictures aren't doing it for you, look at the list of ingredients. If they look good to you, then try it. You won't be sorry!


{cabbage-burger bake}

1 sm. head cabbage (about 2 lbs. - I LOVE cabbage so I tend to add a lot more)
6-10 slices of bacon cut into 2 " pieces (depends on your love of bacon...we add 10)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. uncooked rice (NOT instant. If you use brown it will need to be pre cooked 1/2 way or you'll have this baking forever just too cook the rice)
1 1/2 lbs meat-loaf mixture (ground beef & ground pork)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can spaghetti sauce with mushrooms (we like Hunts)
3 c. water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.Shred cabbage (there should be about 8 c.); spread half in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Place baking dish ontop of a cookie sheet to catch possible spillage. In a large sauce pan, saute bacon just until fat starts to cook out; remove and drain on paper toweling, set aside. Stir onion and rice into drippings in pan; cook, stirring constantly, until onion is soft and rice is lightly browned. Spoon over cabbage in baking dish. Shape meatloaf mixture into large patty in same pan. Brown 5 min on each side, then break up into chunks. Spoon over rice mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with remaining cabbage. Heat spaghetti sauce with water to boiling in same pan. Pour over cabbage, stirring lightly with fork so sauce will flow to bottom. Top with bacon slices; cover. Bake for 50 min or until rice and cabbage are tender. Uncover. Bake 10 min longer to crisp bacon.

Serves 10 generously.

Strawberry Salad

My friend Kira from Kira Cooks gave me the recipe for this salad a few years ago. I have to say it is EASILY one of my all-time favorites AND biggest crowd-pleaser. No lie!!! Each and every time I've made it for some event, I get requests for the recipe. I've been so leery of sharing it until I noticed Kira posted it on her blog. SO, now I know it's okay to share it with you, too.

The flavors of all the components are fantastic on their own, but pack an incredible sweet vinegary taste, nice big juicy strawberries with a hint of bacon and onion in the end. I tend to omit the red pepper, but you can add it to yours if you so desire. You can even round it out and make it a complete meal by adding some sliced grilled chicken breast for protein and voila! The best summer salad EVER! De-Licious!

{Strawberry Salad Recipe}

Monte Cristos and Brussels Sprouts TWO ways

This hot sandwich is such a wonderful stand-by when you're not in the mood to make dinner. It's just as fast and easy as a regular grilled cheese but it's Gourmified! Swiss cheese, ham, egg-dipped slices of sourdough bread. Just thinking about eating this again makes my mouth water. For a bit of a twist, we LOVE sprinkling powdered sugar all over them and sometimes add our favorite jellies.

Monte Cristos

4 thick slices of sourdough bread (about 1/2 - 3/4 inch)
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
swiss cheese, sliced
thinly sliced ham
1 T. Butter
Powdered sugar and favorite jelly (if desired)

Combine eggs and milk in shallow bowl, set aside. Warm skillet on stove with butter to melt on medium LOW heat. Place one slice of bread at a time into egg mixture. Coat ONE side and put onto warmed skillet, egg side DOWN. Top with cheese and ham then cheese again. Top with another slice of egg soaked bread, egg side UP. Cook on each side until cheese is melted and bread with eggs are thoroughly cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Top with powdered sugar and jelly, if desired.

I had extra brussels sprouts from a dish I made from Thanksgiving and didn't want them to go to waste, so I tried another recipe using this YUMMY vegetable that gets such a bad rap. Seriously, people. Brussels sprouts are DELICIOUS!!! You just need to know HOW to cook them! Try one of these recipes, and you'll be surprised at what you've been missing! For the Roasted version in the photos, it was super easy, too!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

1 1/2 lbs Brussels Sprouts
3 Tbsp. good olive oil
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow/brown outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35-40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt (I like these salty like French Fries), and serve immediately.

Now, I know I didn't post any photos of my other favorite Brussels Sprouts recipe, but I thought I'd share that with you anyway. Since I didn't get the chance to take any photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it. If the ingredients sound at all like something you'd eat normally, you'll LOVE them with brussels sprouts, too. My Uncle joined us for Thanksgiving dinner this year. He lived in England for a couple of years and said this recipe for brussels sprouts was the BEST he's ever eaten! Wow! Thanks to Alton Brown and the Food Network for sharing such an AMAZING recipe!!!!!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cheese