• 1 lb mild Italian sausage, crumbled or sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh red crushed peppers
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic puree, or 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 10 cups water or enough to cover and fill almost all of the way up your pan
  • 3 tablespoons chicken base but to taste each base is different
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
  • ¼ of a bunch of kale

I needed a comforting delicious soup. It has been a painful week for me! I began P90X last week and my body has been screaming for help. In addition to the pain felt ALL OVER I thought I felt a kidney stone. Been there. Done that. It is definitely not fun!

Last year I missed hosting the Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner party for the United Arts Council. I had undergone emergency surgery to remove a kidney stone and so I am extra careful and visit my favorite doctor, Dr. Tortora from Cary Urology regularly.

Monday evening the doctor’s office called after receiving my results from a cat-scan. I was asked to come back in for another cat-scan with contrast to investigate a finding. Dr. Tortora and his team are incredible. They are thorough, patient and show lots of concern and care for their patients.

What surprised my hubby and I was that, Ann, the radiologist taking care of me, had undergone surgery for kidney cancer last year. Her positive attitude was refreshing. Ann told us that she is thankful for her experience because she felt it would help her assist patients diagnosed with kidney cancer. She was very reassuring and in the end it was a cyst. How grateful were we!

It had been a cold, long day and my sausage, potato and kale soup was calling me! This soup is similar to the Zuppa Toscana soup you may have enjoyed at the Olive Garden and is super easy and inexpensive to prepare.

Instructions:

1. In a soup pan, brown your sausage with garlic paste (I use Gourmet Garden) and red crushed pepper. You can also mince up 4 cloves of garlic)

2. Drain the fat and add potatoes and kale.

3. Cover with water almost to the top of the pan.

4. Add chicken base. Bring up to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5. Add cream.

6. Taste for salt and pepper.

7. Enjoy!