Sausage and Sauerkraut Soup

Kielbasa and onion

1 lb. kielbasa sausage
6 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed thyme
3 c. milk
1 c. half and half
8 oz. sauerkraut with juice*
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, optional

Chop sausage coarsely by hand. Saute onion and sausage over medium heat in deep pan about 8 minutes until sausage is lightly browned. Combine flour, thyme, and pepper, and add to sausage and brown all together until mixture bubbles up (about 5 minutes). Add milk and half and half all at once and cook, stirring, until mixture again bubbles (about 5 minutes). Add sauerkraut and bring to a boil; the mixture will continue to thicken. Taste for tartness and add lemon juice if desired. Serve at once.

Ready to eat!

*I add a lot more sauerkraut, like 24 oz. for this recipe, but just not all the juice.

Also, this is a soup you must serve immediately. It is one of the only soups I've found that does not reheat well, so I make sure to make just enough. But it is delicious and one of my favorites!

Recipe courtesy of Mama Hess