Hearty Potato and Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 or more small, mildly hot red peppers, sliced
• cumin to taste (start with 1 tsp, I add 1 Tbsp.)
• marjoram to taste (start with 1 tsp, I add 2 tsp.)
• ham bouillon to taste (I add 1 tbl)
• 2 quarts potatoes peeled, chopped to be bite-size
• water to nearly cover the potatoes
• one package of sausage, your choice (heat and serve)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup thick, plain, unsweetened yogurt, or sour cream

Directions:

Saute the celery in bacon fat or olive oil for 5 minutes (I use bacon fat for flavor), then add the onions. Cook until nearly done, since the potatoes won't take long to cook. Add the cumin and hot pepper a minute or two before you add anything else - cumin benefits from a brief saute in oil. Then add in the potatoes and stir it all together to combine. Add water within about an inch short of covering the potatoes.

10 minutes before potatoes are done, add the sausage and simmer briskly. When the potatoes are tender, remove the sausage and keep warm. Mash some of the potatoes right in the pot, if you want the soup a bit thicker. Then mix the yogurt and milk and stir it in slowly, stirring the whole while. Bring the soup back to a simmer, and remove from heat. Serve.

By Free2B from North Royalton, OH