Black Bean and Sausage Soup

I thought for sure I'd done this already, but I hadn't. So good!

Ingredients

1 cup dry black beans (can use canned beans)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp salt
1/8 – ¼ tsp ground red pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cooked, smoked turkey sausage or polish sausage, chopped
Dairy sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, fresh cilantro (optional)

Rinse beans. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine beans and 6 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Return beans to saucepan. Stir in 2 cups water, broth, onion, celery, coriander, salt, red pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1-1 ½ hours or until beans are tender.

If desired, mash beans slightly. Stir in sausage; heat through. IF desired, serve topped with sour cream and cilantro. -OR-

Prepare as above through step 1. In crock pot combine chicken broth, 2 cups water, onion, celery, coriander, salt, red pepper, and garlic. Stir in beans. Cover and cook on high heat for 5-6 hours. If desired, mash beans slightly. Stir in sausage. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more.

Or just used canned beans like we do. Then you only have to cook it for like 30 minutes and then add the sausage. Just cook long enough to get your veggies the way you like them.

In this one, we added some leftover rice just for fun. It added just a little extra. But this is a great recipe. I highly recommend using the optional ingredients. They're fun and tasty to add.