Tuscan Soup in time for Winter

Here in Wisconsin where I live, it is starting to get cold outside (although still not nearly as cold as it should be this time of year). And there is nothing better than getting home after a long, cold day in the Wisconsin cheese mines (or a college campus) and having a nice hot bowl of Tuscan soup. I make the recipe in this Instructable at least once per week because it is my absolute favorite type of soup, especially in the wintertime. This hearty soup features a blend of Italian sausage, fingerling potatoes, and kale in a slightly-spicy cream sauce. It is guaranteed to warm you up and satisfy both your appetite and your taste buds.

Step 1: Recipe Nutrition

Before making the soup in this Instructable, I thought you might be interested in having some information about the soup's nutrition. So, I made a standard nutrition facts table by using a couple of online tools (like this one) to look up the nutritional information of all the individual ingredients and then calculate the nutritional information for the entire recipe. From there, I just divided the information into two-cup serving sizes and ended up with the nutrition facts table below:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 2 cups
Amout Per Serving
Calories	600
Total Fat	38g
Saturated Fat	27.5g
Polyunsaturated Fat	7.2g
Monounsaturated Fat	26.4g
Cholesterol	176.3mg
Total Carbohydrate	39.4g
Dietary Fiber	2.8g
Sugars	2.5g
Protein	22.4g
Vitamin A	52.4%
Vitamin B-12	35.4%
Vitamin B-6	26.8%
Vitamin C	87%
Vitamin D	6%
Vitamin E	2%
Calcium	27.6%
Folate	8%
Magnesium	22%
Manganese	49.4%
Phosphorus	197%
Riboflavin	28.4%
Selenium	62%
Thiamin	54.4%
Zinc	8.8%

Admittedly, it is not the most healthful soup in the world, but it is high in protein and a whole range of vitamins and minerals so you could also do worse.  Plus, it tastes absolutely fantastic, as you will see very soon.  For those of you who use the Weight Watchers program, one serving of this soup is worth 16 points. 

Comments

[fishbait3]

A word of caution. Never keep part of an onion they collect more germs than any other food. They are what make you sick in warm potato salad. Google it.

[tinpie]

Congratulations.....looks delicious!!!!!! very nice instructable.......

[Kimberly^]

Congratulations from me too!!!

[WUVIE]

Whooo hooo! Congratulations on your SECOND PRIZE WIN IN THE CONTEST!
Fabulous, fabulous! Your Instructable was amazing!

[eyesee]

very gooe

[WUVIE]

I am impressed with the amount of time and detail you put into this Instructable! Details, images, everything. Two thumbs up for creating a genuine tutorial. This is good work! You put your heart into it, and it shows. Quality Instructable!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Yummers! That looks like a great soup to have on a cold day like today!

[WriterChick]

I'll be attempting to make this soup after doing some dietary-restrictions fiddling, but it looks very yummy.

Wouldn't have read the article, though, if it were not for the "cheese mines" information at the beginning. LOL.