kielbasa

Pantry Black Bean & Sausage Soup

Sometimes you have to rely on what you’ve got. It was one of those times, when this soup was born. Then my family asked for it again. And again. Et Voilà, a family recipe! All you need is a chilly evening, hungry people and a good loaf of crusty bread. There are few ingredients, so quality matters. (Get good Kielbasa! Use good stock!) Honestly, it’s almost embarrassingly easy, but if my family loves it this much, well then:

As organic as possible:

2 1/2 cups Chicken stock

2 Kielbasa sausages, about 12 oz each

4 – 15 oz. cans Black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp dried Onion

1/2 tsp granulated Garlic

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp dried Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Rinse and drain your beans. Set aside.

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Cut the Kielbasa into bite sized pieces.

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Add the stock, spices, dried herbs, beans and Kielbasa to a pot. Stir.

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Simmer for about 25 minutes, until the flavors are married. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or pepper as you’d prefer. Serve with crusty bread.

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Enjoy this happy face.

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Dad’s Sausages

Ok, many of you may know these as cocktail sausages. I think often people use Vienna style sausages. But when I have these little round beauties I can’t think of anyone else but my dad. The smell of these cooking for almost every special gathering is like synonymous with holiday cheer. They are extremely easy to make. I mean at it’s technical height its about not cutting the meat too thin (because it shrinks as it cooks), while not making it too hunky to eat in one bite. You could make your own chili sauce (and I have) but that’s not dad’s recipe. And who can’t use a simple and tasty appetizer when hosting a gathering?

1 pound cooked sausage such as Dearborn Holiday Sausage (Kielbasa), sliced in rounds about 1/2″ thick

1 – 12 oz bottle chili sauce (such as Heinz)

*Can be easily double, tripled, quadrupled…

Place all ingredients in a crockpot on high for about 3 hours or on the stove top at a simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. When the sauce has reduced (thick and sticky) and sausages are loaded with flavor, serve retro cocktail party style with toothpicks. Stay Classic.