6Italian sausage linksuncooked (I used half hot and half mild, should equal about 4 cups of sausage when cooked and chopped)
1medium sweet yellow onionchopped
2green bell pepperschopped
1tablespoongarlicminced (I'm in LOVE with my garlic press)
2cupscarrotschopped
28ouncecan of diced tomatoesdrained
3cupsuncooked mixed beans*I used the HamBeens 15 bean soup mix, without the flavor packet
4cupscooked and chopped chicken breastclick here to learn how to always have cooked chicken breast on hand!
Instructions
(If you want to do things all right and proper, rinse your beans and soak them in a large covered pot overnight. I didn't do that.)
Bring chicken stock to a boil and add uncooked sausage (I actually boiled 16 sausage links and set aside the extras for another dish. This is a great way to impart additional flavor into your soup while also saving yourself cooking time on your next sausage dish). Also add carrots, onion, green pepper, tomato, and garlic.
Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes, until sausage is cooked through. Remove sausage and brown both sides in another pan on the stove top. Chop sausage into bite size pieces and set aside.
Add beans to soup and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for two hours, or until beans are tender (this will happen faster if you were responsible about soaking your beans in advance).
When beans are tender, add chicken and sausage to soup and simmer an additional 20 minutes. Add 1 - 2 cups of water, if necessary to achieve desired thickness.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients.