Italian White Bean Soup

Funny story.  I made this recipe from my head yesterday, I wrote down the ingredients on a recipe card so I wouldn't forget, because it turned out so great, and then when I went to put it away in my recipe box, I had already written down the exact same recipe.  A few years ago, I created the exact same thing, and wrote it down.  I guess I really thought these ingredients would be great together.  There is one addition to the recipe this last time around...Balsamic Vinegar.  I am in love with balsamic vinegar.  I found a really wonderful one at Costco, it is so sweet and fragrant.  Adding a little at the end of your cooking time with this soup adds another dimesion of flavor.  This is a really simple recipe, but it is worth writing down twice.  Hope you'll try it and love it too.

Italian White Bean Soup

Fills a big crock pot, feeds my family of 7.  You could easily half this.

1 1/2 lbs Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight, drained, cooked until soft, and drained thoroughly again
6 cups chicken stock
2 small cans diced tomatoes (mine had onions, celery and green peppers in them)
Smoked sausage, cut into bite size pieces
1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
1 medium onion
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Soak, rinse and cook white beans, rinse thoroughly.  Add beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices to crock pot. 

Saute' onion, garlic, and sausage in 1 tbsp olive oil until onions are translucent.  If you add onions to the pan first, it will protect the garlic from burning.  Add all to crock pot.

Cook on low for 6 hours.  Before serving, stir in balsamic vinegar. 

I serve mine with a spoonful of brown rice in the middle of the bowl on top of the soup, with a little mozzarella cheese, and on mine I like to add a little extra balsamic vinegar.  The brown rice served with the beans actually creates a complete protein.  You could easily leave the sausage out and have a fantastic vegetarian meal.

(Always make sure you cook your beans before adding them to any recipe with tomatoes, or vinegar.  They drastically slow the cooking process, and you wind up with hard beans.  Plus if you rinse your beans well after you cook them and before you add them to your recipe, it can lower the gassiness:)