Mom's Sausage And Potato Soup

My mother used to make this all the time when I was a kid.  She got the recipe from her mother, who probably got the recipe from her mother in Czechoslovakia.   This recipe was a staple in our family, and nothing was better than a big bowl of warm soup after soccer or baseball practice in the chilly Northwest. 

Sausage and Potato Soup
1 lb. Hillshire Farms Polish Kielbasa sausage (sliced in half the long way, then sliced into bite sized pieces.)
1 lb. Hillshire Farms All Beef Smoked sausage (sliced in half the long way, then sliced into bite sized pieces.)
1 large potato per person, chopped into bite size pieces
2 large yellow onions chopped
11/2 lbs of fresh green beans, chopped into bite size pieces
1 green pepper chopped
2 T of caraway seed
4-5 cups of chicken broth
dash of buttermilk, or milk
1T of flour
salt and pepper to taste

First Mom's method, and then the present day healthy variation for people that aren't physically active on long farm days.
Slowly brown the sausage in a large soup pot.  After some of the fat is rendered from the sausage, add the onions and green pepper and fry until translucent.  Add the caraway seeds and stir well.  Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour and brown the flour.  The flour will stick to the bottom of the pan, just brown it then add chicken broth.  Cover pot and let simmer for an hour, then add potatoes and fresh green beans.  Cook till potatoes and beans are tender.

My mother used to add buttermilk to the soup, my children didn't seem to like that so we would add milk to their soup to cool it.   Also, after cooking the sausage, I drain off the fat, remove the sausage from the pot and add a T of olive oil, to cook the onions and green pepper in a healthy fashion.