Smoked Sausage and Navy Bean Soup

By nlhartman

From the Rival Crockpot cookbook.

Ingredients

• 8 c. chicken broth
• 1 lb. navy beans, rinsed
• 2 ham hocks(about 1 lb.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 c. diced carrots
• 1 c. diced celery
• 1 can(14 1/2 oz.)diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 t. dried thyme
• 1 beef smoked sausage(16 oz.)cut into 1/2 inch rounds

Preparation

Step 1

Place broth in large saucepan.
Heat over medium-high heat until broth begins to boil.
Cover and reduce heat to low.
Place beans in 6 qt. crockpot.
Add remaining ingredients, except broth and sausage.
Carefully pour in hot broth.
Cover; cook on high 8-9 hours or until beans are tender.
Remove bay leaf.
Remove ham hocks from pot. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
Remove ham from hocks, chop and add back to pot.
Stir in sausage.
Cover; cook 25-30 minutes longer or until sausage is heated through.