Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

I have only eaten at Olive Garden a handful of times and have never tried this soup there so although I can't vouch for how similar it is to the orginal, I can tell you it is DELICIOUS! When I saw the recipe on Favorite Family Recipes The ingredients sounded intriguing and I am always up for a new soup recipe. I'm so glad I tried it! I loved it and even my husband, who is a soup skeptic, loved it.

Ingredients:
3 cans (14oz) Chicken Broth
2 cups whipping cream (I used 1 cup cream, 1 cup whole milk)
red pepper flakes (to taste) (I left out since I used spicy sausage)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small onion, diced, sauteed
1/2 pkg. bacon (cooked and crumbled)
4-5 cups chopped kale
3 to 4 potatoes scrubbed and cut into slices or small chunks (skins left on) (I used red onions)
1 lb Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (shaped into small rounds, browned, and put on paper towels to de-grease... or if you are in a rush, just brown the sausage like you would ground beef). (I used 2 small links spicy Italian sausage)

Directions:
Put everything together in a large crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. (they suggested not putting the potatoes in until the last 40-60 minutes, but I put mine in at the beginning and was glad I did...they took awhile to cook)