White Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage and Spinach

I swoon over white bean soup and this recipe for it is fantastic! Bean soup was at the top of the list of my favorite meals when I was young and still is today.  When I was a kid, I loved to be at Grandma?s for Saturday supper since she served bean soup; generally with a ham bone, every Saturday evening year round ~ along with cornbread and iced sweet tea.

Sometimes, I like bean soup jazzed up and spicy.  So, this time I cooked it with andouille sausage.  Bill bought links of it at our great Italian meat market the other day and it has been driving me crazy; smelling the aromatic flavors every time I opened the refrigerator so I could hardly wait to cook it in this soup.  The rich spicy flavor of the sausage is Cajun all the way and a great addition to the beans.  And since I like spinach almost as much as Popeye does, I included a whole bag of it in the soup. 

It?s a tasty soup for supper any evening, plus the dried beans are a great source of protein and easy on your food budget also. Cooking it in a slow cooker makes it so easy with not having to stir it periodically.   And of course, bean soup demands fresh baked corn bread ~ a perfect meal in my way of thinking.  The bean soup is possibly even better the next day!

Ingredients:

1 pound dried great northern beans

½ pound andouille sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced thin

½ teaspoon dried thyme

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

9 ounces fresh spinach, roughly torn

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In 6 quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, carrots and thyme.

Add broth and stir to combine.

Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Skim fat off top.

Before serving, add the spinach leaves and cover.

Cook until the spinach is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Add the vinegar and salt and pepper.

Serves 6

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda?s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!