Successful Soup

We had a linger longer between sessions on Sunday. I like to make wow dishes for potlucks because it's usually the only time I get compliments on my cooking. My fam. isn't too generous with their compliments you see? So I couldn't figure out what to make this time. I thought about what my favorite things to eat are. I love Olive Garden and I like to go to the soup salad and breadsticks and I always get the Zuppa Toscana. I looked for a recipe online and found one. It wasn't too hard to make so I did. I spent Sunday morning chopping potatoes and onions, boiling soup, browning sausage, you know, making soup. I also wanted to take a dessert/finger food. I made a mix of gold fish crackers, pretzels, raisins, Craisins, M&Ms, candy corn and marshmallows. It looked really festive. The soup tasted just like Olive Gardens and I heard people talking about it. *smiles* The mix was fun and people were picking at it before we were allowed to eat. I think it was an overall success and I'll have to put both in my book of recipes to use again. Even my kids liked the soup, so maybe I'll make it just for them if they start complimenting my cooking. It's not that I'm compliment hungry but when I cook for my family I hear from one that they don't like the onions, and that one doesn't like the sauce, and this one doesn't like chicken anymore. It seems like whatever dish is placed before them, someone has to complain about. So when I take it to a potluck nobody is going to complain about it because that would be rude and you only hear the good reviews which make you feel like you're not so terrible in the kitchen after all.