A quick soup to make on a busy night

 We eat a lot of soup at our house, especially in the winter.  It's also a great supper choice for the busy Christmas season.  The soup of the day will stay hot either in a slow cooker or on the stovetop, or can be easily reheated if necessary.  With any soup, I usually just serve something very simple, like bread, cornbread, or biscuits. 

In 2013 I tried (and blogged about on my Kitchen Table blog) this Quick Bean Soup recipe which I had copied down in my handwritten cookbook but had never previously tried.  It was from a Country Woman magazine over 20 years ago.  We really liked this soup a lot.  This time, I used a wonderful smoked kielbasa (and only half the amount called for) and it was still delicious.  It really was easy and quick to prepare other than chopping and slicing the vegetables, which took a little time.  Another thing I did this time was to leave out the carrots and use cubed winter squash instead.  It was outstanding! The recipe makes a lot, but if you have a larger family it looks as if it could very easily be doubled. 

Hope you enjoy this hearty soup if you try it!  This soup is so easy and delicious that I'm sure my readers will forgive me for having previously published it at my other blog.  What is your family's favorite winter soup?