My version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

2 large links of Italian Sausage

½ c red and yellow peppers – chopped
1 sm onion – chopped
3 ribs of celery – chopped
2 large potatoes – sliced
½ bunch of kale, take out the center stem and chop leaves
4 c water
2 T chicken soup base
1T cornstarch mixed in ¼ c water to thicken if needed
1 c half and half
1 14oz can cannellini beans – drained and rinsed

Remove casing and brown sausage (or a mix of ground beef and pork) in a little olive oil. Stir, breaking into small pieces and brown 5-10 minutes. Add chopped vegetables, stir and sauté another 5-10 minutes. Next add potatoes, kale, water and bullion or soup base. Simmer 20 minutes.  If you’d like the soup a little thicker add the cornstarch-water mixture now. Then add half and half, beans and heat on low for another 5 minutes until soup steams but doesn’t boil. . .Lin