Sausage Soup - a family tradition!

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays in our homestead both feature the same delicious menu. The menu is written in stone, and may not be changed! It is okay to add to the menu, but don't attempt to omit any of the favorites! For as long as I can remember, the meal was prepared by my father Byron Reppert. Dad was a WW II Marine, member of Mechanicsburg’s Boro Council for 16 years and mayor of the town for 4 years. He was always one of our biggest supporters in any endeavor we attempted. Eventually, when he felt the big family meal might be too much for him to prepare by himself, his daughters apprenticed Thanksgiving Dinner. Our festivities begin with the family gathering on the eve of the holiday to savor our traditional Sausage Soup.This easy to make meal can be simmering on the stove top until all members of the family have arrived. To make this hearty soup, place sliced Smoked Sausage in a large sauce pan with water over medium heat and cook thoroughly. Add minced onion, diced celery and cubed potatoes to the pot. Toss in some parsley, too. Reduce the heat and simmer on the stove until the potatoes are tender. Just before serving add some milk, which gives the soup a creamy color and helps to cool the fat. We have always found the flavor of the smoked sausage offers enough seasoning to this soup. The senior members of our family would muse that they used to call this “poor man’s soup but with the price of sausage these days you can’t call it that anymore”. The annual tale continues with “and when we were really poor we made the soup with pretzels instead”.