Jean Pennington used to cut out and save almost every recipe from the Forum. Each week, the Edmonds resident watched for Judyrae Kruse’s column, and she also shared recipes with the longtime Daily Herald writer.
“Her sons and my kids were about the same age,” Pennington wrote of Judyrae in an email. “I was saddened when we were informed of her passing. She had been a part of my life for years.”
One of those saved recipes was for smoked sausage soup that was printed in The Herald in September 1990. Pennington had all the ingredients in the house and made it for her family while they watched the first football game of the season.
“It happened to be our son’s first marching band participation,” she wrote. “We actually were able to see him marching during halftime. Then it started to be our go-to meal for Super Bowl games.”
Pennington has made the original recipe several times in the 32 years since it first published. She’ll add more onions, carrots and celery to make it a thicker soup.
The recipe is easy to throw together but takes about three hours to cook since dried navy beans are used.
You could possibly used canned beans and cut down on the water, but using dried beans reigns supreme in my book. The beans turn out far more tender, and in this recipe, they’ll take on the smoky, savory flavors of the sausage and bacon.
This is the perfect Sunday recipe for lounging around the house and waiting for a cozy supper that can be enjoyed throughout the week.
Smoked sausage soup
6 ounces bacon, diced
8 ounces Polska Kielbasa or smoked sausage, sliced or diced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
6 cups water
28 ounces can diced tomatoes
1 cup dried navy beans
2 cups tomato juice
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoons marjoram
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
In a large pot, sauté bacon until lightly browned. Add sausage, onion, carrot and celery and sauté until onion is tender.
Add water, tomatoes and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Add tomato juice and remaining ingredients.
Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 3 hours. Discard bay leaf.
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