Senate Bean Soup

November 28, 2011 by

Don’t let this pork and bean soup recipe from Betty Crocker (original here) trick you. This isn’t pork and beans. This is the real thing—a warm soup made with great Northern beans and ham, thickened with mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dried navy beans or Great Northern beans (1 lb), sorted and rinsed
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 ham bone, 2 lb ham shanks or 2 lb smoked pork hocks
  • 2½ cups mashed potatoes
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
  • 2 medium stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Directions

  1. In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat beans and water to boiling.
  2. Boil uncovered 2 minutes; remove from heat.
  3. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
  4. Add ham bone.
  5. Heat to boiling; reduce heat.
  6. Cover and simmer about 2 hours or until beans are tender.
  7. Stir in remaining ingredients.
  8. Cover and simmer 1 hour.
  9. Remove ham bone; let stand until cool enough to handle.
  10. Remove ham from bone. Remove excess fat from ham; cut ham into 1/2-inch pieces.
  11. Stir ham into soup.

Variations

  • Add 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles, 1 tablespoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon ground cumin with remaining ingredients in step 7. Top soup with salsa if desired.

Filed under Main Dish, Soups & Stews Tagged with , ,

White-Bean and Sausage Stew

November 17, 2011 by

The photo of this recipe, with chunks of sausage and lots of beans, has me ready for a soup night. From the October 2006 issue of All You (original here), this crockpot soup is bound to fill the house with a wonderful aroma!

Ingredients

  • 6 (3 oz.) Italian sausages
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 (15 oz.) cans white beans (Great Northern or navy), rinsed and drained
  • 1 (28 oz.) can chopped tomatoes, drained
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Poke holes in sausages and put in a large nonstick skillet.
  2. Add 1/4 cup water; bring to a boil.
  3. Lower heat and cook sausages, turning, until lightly browned and water has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a plate.
  5. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
  6. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes.
  7. Add beans, tomatoes and thyme.
  8. Put half of bean mixture into a slow cooker.
  9. Arrange sausages on top, followed by remaining beans.
  10. Cook on high for 4 hours.
  11. Check after 2 hours and add water if mixture looks dry.
  12. Remove sausages; slice thickly.
  13. Season beans with salt and pepper.
  14. Return sausage to stew. (Stew can be kept, frozen and tightly sealed, for up to 1 month.)

Filed under Italian, Soups & Stews Tagged with , , ,

Classic Minestrone

November 16, 2011 by

Oddly, our family has never favored a minestrone recipe. When we think Italian food, it’s always a plate of pasta. This recipe from the October 2011 issue of All You (original here) might be worth sneaking into the line-up however. Everyone likes all those ingredients—and I bet if I add some meatballs, that pot of soup will disappear.

Ingredients

  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes with liquid
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup small shell pasta or macaroni
  • 1 cup shredded escarole or kale
  • 1 15.5-oz. can cannellini or navy beans, drained
  • Grated Parmesan, for serving, optional

Directions

  1. Combine carrots, celery, onion and garlic in slow cooker.
  2. Pour in broth and stir in tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and Italian seasoning.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
  4. Thirty minutes before serving, stir in pasta, escarole and beans.
  5. Cover, increase heat to high and cook until pasta is tender, about 30 minutes.
  6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan, if desired.

Variations

  • I will probably add two dozen small meatballs with the vegetables and broth.
  • This would be a great candidate for a bread bowl. Mmm.

Filed under Italian, Soups & Stews Tagged with , , ,