A very flexible recipe - you can cook the beans "from scratch" or use canned beans, use any kind of sausage you want (Jimmy Dean reduced fat works great - it comes in 12 or 14 oz. packages and I use it in place of the 1 lb. called for in the recipe) or substitute ham or turkey, you can add or substitute favorite veggies. This soup freezes well and can be halved or doubled. And it's delicious! To make a lower fat version, use the reduced fat sausage and 1% or skim milk. (The cooking time is for a crock pot - if you use your stove top, cooking time is greatly reduced.)