Lance Ladue, Essex Junction, Vermont, writes to request a recipe published in the late 1970s in GRIT. It was for a bean and sausage soup or stew that Lance calls “great.”
The following recipe comes from the GRIT recipe archives, though it is from the 1990s.
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Bean and Sausage Soup Recipe (Captain Ron’s Sausage and Navy Bean Soup)
2 cans (16 ounces each) fat-free chicken broth
12 ounces fat-free smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 to 4 teaspoons garlic spice blend, such as Olde Westport Gold Coast Garlic Shake
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained, optional
2 cans (15 ounces each) navy or Great Northern white beans, drained
In 4-quart saucepan, combine broth, sausage, onion, thyme and spice blend. Bring to gentle boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until onion is tender. Stir in spinach and beans. Cook additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Note: If you omit the spinach, add an extra can of white beans, drained.
“The spinach was left optional because of children,” says Bill Peterson, owner of Olde Westport Spice & Trading Co. “I raised a couple kids, and they would take one look at that green stuff and wouldn’t try it. As adults, we go by flavor, and this is excellent with chopped spinach.”
