Brown sausage and red pepper flakes in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pot, add the four slices of bacon and cook 5-7 minutes until crisp. Remove from pan, and set aside to cool and crumble. (Note: At this point there should be a fair amount of dark stuff on the bottom of your pot - do not fear! This is where all the flavor is.)

Add onions and garlic to the pot, and sauté in bacon grease until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add ½ cup of chicken broth to pot and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until all the dark bits are incorporated into your mixture. Add remaining broth and potatoes.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, and then add cream and kale.

Cover pot for about 3 minutes to let the kale wilt and soften. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Once the soup is heated through, you are ready to eat. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.