Hey! It?s not a bottomless pot of ... Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup!

Do you follow a cooking routine? By that I mean do you like to have or prepare certain things on certain days of the week? You know, like how Marjie makes brownies on Tuesday?s? Well, here in the It?s All Gouda kitchen, Sunday is soup makin? day. I like to make a gargantuan pot of soup to provide a couple days worth of hot thermos lunches for my wee one as well as a couple steamy bowls for me for lunch. I eat soup year round, but especially savor it?s body warming qualities in the winter months.

Today?s soup is awesome! It?s another super-dee-duper easy recipe to put together, but tastes good enough for company. Both my husband and youngest daughter ate *3* servings of this in one sitting. T-h-r-e-e servings. Each. Bear in mind that the youngest spoon wrangler is only about 50 lbs fully clothed. After I had my one serving, there was only a whopping two servings left in the pot for weekday lunches. I informed these loves of my life that this was not a bottomless pot of soup. Without dripping a single drop as they shoveled in spoonful after spoonful, the perpetrators of this travesty ever so casually suggested that I should just, you know, whip up another pot full. Uh huh. Picture me ... incredulous expression plastered on my face ... opening and closing my mouth, with no sound emitting from said oraface, about four times before I just walked away. After all, what did I have to complain about. They ate it. With gusto. While making yummy noises. Little stinkers.

Won?t you join me now as we make It?s not a bottomless pot of Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup. Here?s what you?ll need:1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon of bacon drippings from breakfast
1 lb smoked sausage ? cut into fourths and diced in ½ in pieces.
1 large onion ? diced
2 carrots ? diced
3 cloves garlic ? minced with salt
1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can larger white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or just use a total of 2 cans white beans)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 15 oz cans chicken broth
1 cup water
dash cayenne pepper

In a large stock pot, heat the oil and bacon drippings over medium heat.Add the sausage, turn up the heat a bit, and sauté until browned. Remove the sausage from the skillet, there should be some fond in the bottom of the pan, stir the onions right into it. Saute for a couple minutes, then add the carrots. Saute the carrots and onions just a minute or two, then add the garlic. Stir frequently another minute or two. Add the sausage back into the pot. Add the beans, bay leaf, and thyme. Give a good stir, then add the broth and water. Sprinkle in just a wee bit of cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and gently simmer about 30 minutes uncovered. Done.Mmm, mmm, good. Just look at that!Isn't it lovely?Go ahead, take a bite. Unlike many bean soups, this one is a brothy bean soup ... instead of a thick one. A simple salad and a hearty loaf of bread alongside would satisfy just about anybody. One bite of this will make you wish this really was a bottomless pot of soup!YUM! Oh, and this is gluten free, all the way, baby!