North Woods Bean Soup

AKA, "She ATE IT!!!"

This is an old standby at our place--I didn't even pull out the recipe last night, I've made it so many times--but it's been in retirement for a while, as it's not exactly a summery soup. It is hearty, warming, and relatively cheap as far as the ingredient list.

We have been working for a couple of weeks now on getting L to eat a normal dinner, instead of going through a separate rotation of the four things she likes to eat, and then giving her some yogurt. The invariable reaction has been to push her plate away, drink her milk, and announce, "I'm done." I did have some hopes for this soup, because she does like beans. She did pick a few of those out, then speared a piece of kielbasa and asked me if it was a hot dog. "Yes," I told her, figuring it was close enough. She ate it. A while later I saw her looking speculatively at a carrot, though she made a face when she ate it. She even ate a piece of kale (which I use instead of spinach when I have it).

Needless to say, this soup will be going into regular rotation.