Baby, it's COLD outside!

Wowzers....it's flippin' cold outside!  I HATE this weather...I've been cold all day long.  In fact, I can't even feel my fingers as I type this.  Please excuse any typos you may find because of the frozen fingers ;)  When it's cold like this, I love to make soup.  Any soup will do, there's just something comforting and creative about getting out my old blue LeCreuset stockpot and whipping up a batch of yumminess.  I love making up a soup recipe as I go...throw in a little bit of this, a little bit of that...and before you know it that darn stockpot is full and I have to share a big ol' container with friends or family.  I know that breaks everyone's hearts when that happens ;)  

My partner in diva-ness Kendra and I were having coffee this morning, and as we were sipping and chatting, she was perusing one of my 6,000 Paula Deen cookbooks.  (OK, so maybe not 6,000...maybe 5,999).  That made me remember one of my fave recipes from Miss Paula, her Confederate Bean Soup.  It's out of this world good, and sooo yummy on a cold night like this.  I have made it so many times, Kendra giggled at the page in the cookbook...it's stained and worn.  The true sign of a great recipe that's been used a LOT!  Either that, or the sign of a super sloppy cook who can't keep her cookbooks clean ;)   If you make this soup, let me tell ya...it's not low-cal.  Don't even try to substitute milk for the half & half.  If you do, Miss Paula will show up on your doorstop and beat you with a stick of butter!  I'm serious y'all.....

The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook by Paula H. Deen

Confederate Bean Soup

Serves 3 or 4

1/2 pound Hillshire Farms smoked sausage, sliced in rounds-1/4 inch thick (ground sausage is a delicious substitute if you don't care for smoked sausage)
2 slices bacon, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups leftover baked bans, or one 16-ounce can Bush's Baked Beans
1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Saute sausage, bacon, garlic, onion, and pepper (if desired) in butter until bacon is cooked. Add beans and simmer for a few minutes over medium to low heat. Add half-and-half. Increase or decrease half-and-half for preferred thickness. Serve with piping-hot corn bread.