Sausage Bean Soup

A new easy peasy week night meal! If you open the cans while the sausage browns, and slice some crusty bread while it simmers, this could be a 20 minute meal!  And though it has all the comfort of a soup, you can make it in the summer, because it won't overheat the kitchen.

Sausage Bean Soup
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 (15 oz.) cans beans, partly drained, like black beans, butter beans, or kidney beans
3 c. water
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 can corn, drained
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a soup pot, brown sausage and chopped onion.  Spoon off extra fat.  Add cans of beans and vegetables, water, and seasonings and cheese.  Simmer for 10 min.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve immediately, you can sprinkle with more Parmesan if you like.

Note: you could use hot Italian sausage if you like.  I plan to put the tomatoes in the blender next time, as I noticed my kids picking them out. Grrr. This would be good with French Bread or Baking Powder Biscuits.

Jenny