The ladies in my neighborhood had a luncheon social this past week, and we figured there was no better way to welcome autumn than with soup. So that was the theme of our gathering.

There were many wonderful soups, along with breads, cheeses and – of course – desserts. It was a great turnout, and we had a wonderful time visiting and catching-up with each other.

One of the soups I really liked was Turnip Green Soup. I know, doesn’t sound good, right? I think that’s because turnip greens have always registered high on the “yuk” scale, but this is some seriously good soup.

It’s so good, though, I think I need to share it with you this week.

Before you turn up your nose, hear me out. I made it for my Bible Study group Sunday evening. The result? All gone.

Well, actually, it wasn’t all eaten at the time because I’d made some of my ever-popular lasagna soup, so there were two soups to choose from. However, what was left of the turnip greens was divvied out for others to take home. It’s that good.

Of course, “you know who” didn’t eat any. He wouldn’t even try it. In fact, when I was cooking it at home – and he thought I was making the lasagna soup – he commented that it smelled like I was putting something weird in the soup.

I told him to relax, I wasn’t making his lasagna soup yet.

He still threw a worried and cautious look my way before he sat down to watch the Razorbacks.

The flavor of the turnip greens is very mild in this soup. It also has kielbasa sausage, onions and navy beans, which go a long way in taming the taste of the greens.

My grandmother and mother have always cooked turnip greens. They were a staple in our house.

I remember having to pick them, which I didn’t care for, but that was beside the point. We all had to do our share of raising the garden.

I guess I disliked picking okra the most because of the little, hairy stickers that cover them. But looking back, I can say I have some wonderful memories that I wouldn’t take anything for.

But I digress. The original soup recipe I received didn’t call for bacon of any kind, but I’ve never eaten turnip greens without bacon, so I changed it up a bit.

My mom and granny taught me that it was just the way you cook turnip greens.

Also, it calls for Polish Kielbasa sausage. I suppose you can use the kind that comes in the package from Hillshire Farms for this, but I used the handmade market type.

I simply skillet-browned it until it was almost done, let it cool down, and then cut it into thin slices. It made a really tasty soup. Especially with the bacon!

I’ve since seen a few other recipes. Some use black-eyed peas instead of great northern beans, ham from a leftover ham bone instead of the sausage, and some even add a can of corn.

It seems this soup is very adaptable. I might make it again using a hambone and some black-eyed peas.

I also made some mini-corn muffins (just out of Jiffy Mix) to serve with the soup. The recipe says to put a few in the bottom of your bowl then ladle the soup on top of them.

This is a GREAT way to eat them, but I would think that cornbread sticks or just regular skillet cornbread served alongside the soup would be equally as good. I guess it’s just a matter of how you want to eat your cornbread.

One more thing before I quit writing. This soup is super easy and fast.

The soup is all made of canned goods so that you just open and dump it into the pan. Super easy and good.

Anyway, have fun with this soup. It’s really deceiving in its taste and is a wonderful fall dinner.