Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

I thought I had put this recipe up a long time ago, but I have come back to find it and I can't so here it is!!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

1 1/2 cups sausage links, spicy, about 12 links (I just used the regular spicy ground sausage)
3/4 cup diced onions
6 slices bacon
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tbl. chicken stock
1 quart water
2 medium potatoes, cut in half and then into 1/4 slices. (I always added more potatoes...)
2 cups Kale, cut in half and then sliced
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

directions: preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut into half lengthwise, then cute at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. add chicken base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. add sausage, kale and cream. simmer 4 minutes and serve.

(If you use ground sausage I just cooked it while the soup was simmering for the 15 minutes, also the bacon usually takes longer to cook than the onions to get clear, so I cooked the bacon until it was done, then cooked up the onions in a little bit of the bacon grease and then crumbled the bacon back in with the onions and garlic and went from there.)

This is super super yummy, and tastes almost as good as the real deal. I always serve with garlic breadsticks and a little grated cheese on top, usually monteray jack because that is what we always have in the fridge!!! super easy, super yummy, ENJOY!