Soup!

This is a change for the blog - not writing about grandkids!  Or knitting!  I like trying new recipes and during the last six weeks with Laura living here we tried quite a few new ones.  It was fun having her in the kitchen helping and talking about whether we really wanted to make it the way the recipe said or change it to our idea of how it should be.  The best one we tried was called the Rich Italian Sausage and Potato soup.  It is on the All Recipes web site where I seem to get most my new recipes - I get an email from them every day with suggestions and this one was a huge hit.  I have to say it is the best soup I ever made. 

I made a few changes to it - I used regular bacon because I could find the pancetta bacon (and never heard of it before) and the second time I made it I used half and half instead of the heavy cream.  It was cheaper and I actually thought it tasted better.  I also used more potatoes than it called for simply because we like potatoes.   For the chicken broth, I have been saving the liquid that remains in the crock pot after fixing a whole chicken in it and freezing it in small bags - about a cup each.   I had never cooked with kale before so that was fun.  Also discovered that kale does not keep well - if you don't use it all - throw it away your refrigirator will smell most unpleasant.  I think next time I will cook the sausage in with the bacon and onions instead of baking it in the oven. 

Here is a link to the soup recipe - hope you enjoy it too.

Italian Sausage and Potato soup