Best of Bridge Bean Soup

By Kathy_S

Your next family favorite! The very thing for a cold winter's night.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. hot italian sausage meat
• 2 smoked pork hocks or 2-3 cups cubed ham
• 3 medium potatoes (I use pasta instead of the potatoes)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 3 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
• 5 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and choped
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tbsp. dried
• 2 - 14 oz. cans kidney beans
• 14 oz. can tomato sauce
• 28 oz. can tomatoes, chopped
• 1 - 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Preparation

Step 1

Boil sausage to remove excess fat; cut into bite-sized pieces. Skin pork hocks and remove excess fat. Brown sausage and pork hocks in a large, heavy pot. Drain. Add all other ingredients and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 2-3 hours. Remove pork hocks and cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to pot. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 8 - 10.