Zuppa Toscana

Submitted by: Copy-cat of Olive Garden's soup

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb Italian sausage
2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half,and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 can oscar meyer bacon bit
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
Add sausage and bacon.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Turn to low heat.
Add kale and cream.
Heat through and serve.

P.S.
We used Jimmy Dean's breakfast sausage (spicy) and browned it on the stove top. We also used milk instead of cream.

Kourambiedes

Submitted by: Sophia Garrow

Ingredients:
1 lb. unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1 T vanilla extract
4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1-2 boxes powdered sugar

Directions:
Melt the butter and pour into a large mixing bowl. Beat until thick like cream (this took us about 20 minutes of beating with a big electric mixer). Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, and 2T of the powdered sugar together, and add to wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed. If the dough is too soft to handle, chill in refrigerator for an hour or so. Shape into small balls (about 1" diameter is good), place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly by making an indentation with your finger. Bake about 20 minutes at 350F until golden but not browned. Cover a piece of waxed paper with a thick layer of sifted powdered sugar, and immediately place the hot cookies onto the sugar. Handle cookies carefully as they are very delicate and crumbly when warm. Sift more sugar over the top of the cookies to make a nice thick coating. Put individual cookies into fluted paper or foil cups, and sift more sugar on them to cover any holes.