Winter is soup season in “JoDeeland”, unfortunately my husband is not a fan of soups so I don’t make them as often as I’d like to.  We do make them quite often when he’s working at night though.  Last night was one of those times.  It’s been raining a lot here lately and that makes perfect weather for soup!  Typically the soups we make are veggie, tomato, chowder, chili, and of course my amazing recipe for Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi soup.  But last night we were in the mood for something different.  So Pinterest to the rescue and soon we came across the inspiration of making a Olive Garden Zupa soup copycat.  After looking at a couple recipes I came up with my own recipe- it’s soup- really it’s not rocket science.  And the results were probably the best soup I’ve ever made, one to rival my famous Chicken Gnocchi soup!  Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of crumbled bacon
1# ground sausage
2 T olive oil
1 onion- chopped
2 T. minced garlic
4-5 potatoes- chopped
4 c. chicken stock (or 4 c. of water and 2 T chicken bouillon)
1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 small package of frozen spinach
1 T. Italian Seasoning

If you don’t use the pre-cooked bacon crumbles from costco (seriously they are the bomb, try them out!)  you’ll want to first cook a few slices of bacon then crumble them and set them aside.

Next in a sauce pan (big enough for your soup) cook 1 tube/roll (whatever those things are called) of ground sausage.
I only ever buy Jimmy Dean brand, and we prefer the maple flavored one.  I’m sure any of the flavors will work to your taste.
Be sure to chop it up good as you’re cooking it.
Once it’s cooked remove it from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan (you want to keep all the flavors) add the olive oil, then cook the onion and garlic until the onion is clear.
Next add the potatoes and chicken stock.  Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.
Add the heavy whipping cream, spinach, and Italian seasoning along with the cooked sausage.
Once the spinach is no longer frozen and mixed into the soup it’s ready to serve.  Dish it up into bowls, then sprinkle a little bacon on top.

Enjoy!