Bean, Barley & Sausage Soup

--------------------------IOWA REC NEWS, MAY 1992-------------------------- 1 lb Kidney beans, dry

1 pk Smoked Polish sausage,sliced

7 c Water

1 c Barley

2 Garlic cloves; peeled

3 Bay leaves

Put rinsed beans in large saucepan. Add water, cover and let stand overnight. Drain off water the next day. Put beans, barley and remaining ingredients into crockpot. Stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove bay leaves. Salt to taste when serving. Sylvia's comments: I nuked the beans to fast-soak them, and it worked great. Even the kids liked this one! I used a fine-ground wurst instead of Polish sausage and cut it into bite-sized pieces before cooking. I also added some powdered beef stock to the water for cooking. Then I packed the soup into empty jars to take to work. It reheats great! Also worked well for a quick supper for the kids. Definitely a keeper. I might add some chopped browned onions next time, though. Posted on Koinonia C.C.S. 06-14-92 by LEAPING LOTHARIOUS MM by Sylvia Steiger, CI$ 71511,2253, Internet sylvia.steiger@lunatic.com, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN, moderator of GT Cookbook and FringeNet Lowfat & Luscious echoes