OLIVE GARDEN® ZUPPA TOSCANA

It is a very good soup and hits the spot on cold winter days. In my opinion, making these recipes at home makes them even better than the ones you eat at the restaurant! :)

OLIVE GARDEN® ZUPPA TOSCANA

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 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!

Spicy Lime Chicken with Black Beans

*Low-glycemic index recipe!

Serves 4

For the Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Olive oil

For the Dish
2 cans of black beans (approx. 15 ounces)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes – diced
4 limes
8 tablespoons sour cream
Chopped chives or green onions for garnish


Directions:

For the chicken;
Cut the chicken into thin strips
Mix the chicken with all of the spices
Drizzle some olive oil in a skillet
Add the chicken to the oil and cook until lightly browned

For the dish; 

Black Beans
You can either warm the black beans in a small pot right before assembling the dish…..or you can assemble the dish and put the serving dish into the microwave to warm up the beans
Assembly
In a serving bowl, add the black beans (use ½ of the can for each serving….use a slotted spoon so that not too much of the black bean liquid goes into the serving bowl).  If you didn’t warm up the beans in a small pot first……warm them up real quick in the microwave after putting them in the serving dish
Lay pieces of the warm chicken over the black beans
Grate the cheese
Add the cheese (1/4 cup per serving)
For each serving….cut a lime into quarters and squeeze the juice of 3 of the quarters over the black beans, chicken and cheese
Dice the tomatoes
Then top with the tomatoes, a bit of the sour cream…..then the rest of the sour cream
Garnish with the chives or chopped green onions and any leftover shredded cheese if you have it