Dad Does Dinner Challenge December: Soup

Here it is: our Dad Does Dinner Challenge for December! This month, DaddyO decided we needed a little warming up. Might have had a little something to do with this:

What’s better for those stuck-inside-watching-it-snow evenings {which, for the record, is one of my personal absolute favorite scenarios} than a big pot of soup?

…that you didn’t have to make?

So, moms, get out there and make some snow angels with the kiddos; it’s Dad’s turn to make dinner!

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Hey, Dads. DaddyO here. We like to eat at the Olive Garden. It’s one of the few places we can take our kids and still feel like we’re having a nice dinner out. But it can get pretty expensive, even with the free breadsticks and salad, so we like to try to make some Olive Garden dishes at home. This Toscana soup is one that we make a lot. Even the kids like it. We have adapted this recipe from Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.

Olive Garden Toscana Soup

5 1/2 c water

5 tsp chicken bouillon powder or granules or 5 bouillon cubes

1/2 c heavy cream

5 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

1 bunch chopped kale (we like more)

1 lb mild Italian sausage

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

I started by cooking the sausage. Ty told me if I cooked it in the soup pot, that would save dishes later. I thought that was a pretty good idea.

Put the sausage in, add a little bit of water, cover the pot, and cook the sausage on medium low heat.

While the sausage was cooking, I started peeling the potatoes.

After browning the first side, I used tongs to turn the sausage over. I had to add more water at this time, too.

Then, I rinsed and chopped the kale.

I cut the ends of the stalks off because Ty told me to. She said to tell you the ends can be kind of “woody”. I don’t know what that means, but I cut them off because she told me to.

…and chopped the kale into bite-sized pieces. We like a lot of kale, so I chopped a lot extra.

Next, I tried to chop the onions. That didn’t go so well.

So, I had a little help with that part. Ty bailed me out.

The sausage is done cooking when it reaches 180 degrees.

I drained off the fat but left this brown goo in the bottom of the pan. I thought I should wash it, but Ty said it adds flavor, so I left it.

Then I put the onions in with the goo and added a few tablespoons of water.

And cooked them for a little while to scrape up some of the goo.

Next, I poured in the water and added the broth powder.

Then I added the whipping cream and the potatoes.

Once it’s cooled, cut the sausage in half the long way.

Cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Then add it to the pot.

I guess I misjudged the size of pot I needed, because I ended up having to put everything into a bigger pot in order to fit all the kale in. So much for fewer dishes.

Cover and let it cook for a few minutes. The kale really cooks down. Add the red pepper flakes.

And let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked and the kale is tender. This depends on the size you cut your potatoes. I cut ours pretty small for the kids, and it was done in a little over an hour.

I always like to have rolls when Ty makes soup. I really like these Butter Flake Crescent rolls, but we never have them when Ty’s cooking because she’s afraid of the tube. She doesn’t like how they pop when you peel them.

They’re really easy. You just separate out the triangles, roll them up, and shape them into little crescents.

Then you just bake them for 12 minutes or so like it says on the package.

Tasted just like Olive Garden, but without the drive. And we didn’t have to rush so we could be done eating before the kids started screaming and running around like wild animals got restless.

This has always been one of my favorite things that Tyra makes for us. It was fun to learn the secrets behind how Tyra makes something that tastes so much like “the real thing”.

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Thanks, DaddyO! We love it when you make us dinner!

Guys, that’s one thing that I just love about making restaurant meals at home. When you get this soup at Olive Garden, it’s pretty brothy (which is okay, because we love to dip our breadsticks in there), but I find myself wishing there was more of the rest of it in my bowl. When I make it at home, I can modify the recipe to suit my family’s tastes, like adding extra kale. This is one really delicious way I can get my kids to eat and love their dark green leafy vegetables.

I also wanted to mention Todd Wilbur’s book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. This was the first of the restaurant knock-off cookbooks that I ever owned I just love it – it’s so much fun to be able to recreate some of my favorite restaurant dishes at home. He also has a website, Top Secret Recipes, where he features a new top secret recipe weekly, and where you can purchase a recipe for less than a dollar.

Well, Dads, now it’s your turn. Soup is such a broad category – it should be fun to see what you all come up with! Let’s have all your submissions before January 2, please!

Oh, and for the record, I’m not afraid of the tube. I just don’t think someone should have to wince, close their eyes, and brace themselves for explosions and gun-shot noises when they’re trying to prepare dinner.

Okay, so maybe I’m a little afraid. But, come on, people, it’s like a grenade!