Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden

I have always loved the Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden. However, Olive Garden is not particularly cheap, I only got to have this soup maybe a few times a year at best. But now, after modifying a few recipes I found online, I can finally make it at home. And it is so easy! Here it is:






Ingredients:

1lb Italian Sausage

1 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

½ c. sherry wine

3 potatoes, diced (1 inch cubes)

2 cups of kale, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1.5 cups water

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Remove the casings of the Italian sausages and place the meat into a large Dutch oven pot.

2. Turn the heat up to medium-high and use a wooden spoon to break up the sausages so that they become crumbly as they cook.

3. Remove the sausage from the pot, leaving the oil behind.

4. Add in the diced onion and cook on medium-low heat until translucent.

5. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook briefly, being careful not to burn them (about 1 minute).

6. Pour in the sherry wine and deglaze the pan.

7. Add the sausage, kale, potatoes, chicken broth, and water, stir to evenly distribute the soup components, and turn the heat up to medium-high.

8. Wait for the soup to boil and then reduce the heat down to medium to simmer for 20 minutes.

9. Add in the heavy cream slowly while stirring the soup.

10. Let the soup cook for about another minute to warm up the heavy cream.

11. Adjust with salt and pepper.

12. Serve and Enjoy! :D

When I made this soup, I used hot Italian sausage, so I left out the red pepper flakes. However, if you are using regular Italian sausages that are not at all spicy, I highly suggest you add the red pepper flakes to give it that extra kick. Furthermore, note that you can use white wine instead of sherry wine. The amount of potatoes is also adjustable. My brother loves potatoes, so I used 4 instead of 3 once. It did not affect the taste of the soup too much, but there sure was a lot of potato in that soup. For me, 3 potatoes was perfect.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the soup! J

Spicy Fried Rice

I am not the biggest fan of eating plain white rice, let alone leftover white rice, so this recipe does wonders, as I now no longer complain about having leftover white rice. The best part is that it is so easy to make and the ingredients are commonly found in the kitchen. However, while you can adjust stuff like soy sauce and Sriracha sauce, it is important to know that if you leave out bacon, it really is not the same. It will still taste good, but it will take away a great deal from the different flavors and it will no longer be as fulfilling. 

Anyways, here is the recipe. Note that I do not handle spicy food well, so if you can, I would advise you to add more. You can of course always add more to the finished product. My cousin loves spicy food, so he basically drizzles it on top as if it were a salad dressing.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups leftover rice (preferably cold and a day old)
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
4 pieces of bacon (chopped)
½ white onion (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (you can use another hot sauce if you want)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ -1 tbsp soy sauce
3 eggs

Directions:
1. Mix rice with melted butter and set aside
2. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and water. If the sugar does not fully dissolve, heat the mixture slightly. Stir in Sriracha sauce, mix until smooth, and set aside.
3. In a skillet under medium high heat, fry the bacon until browned and crisp (6-8 min.). Remove and place on paper towel-lined plate to set aside
4. Drain bacon fat, leaving 1-2 tbsp in the skillet. Cook onion until soft (5 min.)
5. Stir in garlic and sauté (1 min.). Make sure it does not burn.
6. Add rice and Sriracha mixture and mix well. Stirfry until rice is crisp or brown (3-5 min.)
7. Crack the eggs over the rice and stir to scramble throughout the mixture (2-3 min.)
8. Stir in bacon
9. Add soy sauce and sesame oil. You can adjust the soy sauce to taste.

Enjoy!