Bean & Ham Soup

I searched the internet for the perfect Bean and Ham Soup recipe.  

This is a combination of several recipes that makes a soup we love.

Bean and Ham Soup

Ø 1 tbsp olive oil

Ø 1 yellow sweet onion

Ø 1 cup of carrots sliced

Ø 1 cup of celery, sliced

Ø 1 clove of garlic minced

Ø 1 1/2 cups of cooked diced ham

Ø 4, 14oz cans of white beans or navy beans (rinsed & drained) OR cook your own beans, 2 cups, dried

Ø 4 cans of chicken stock

Ø 2 bay leaves

Ø Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper (to taste)


Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add ham and cook for 30-60 seconds before adding 3 cans of stock and 2 cans of beans (rinsed well), bay leaf, and pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves and blend soup in pot with immersion blender 0r regular blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. Add the remaining 2 cans of beans and remaining can of stock. Simmer to heat beans through, 10-15 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. (The ham often provides enough salt.)

We love this with crusty bread or good old fashioned soda crackers.

Beef Barley Soup -- Crockpot

We altered a few recipes to get just what we loved in a hearty beef barley soup. This is what we came up with, and we love it!!

Beef Barley Soup – Crockpot

Cook a roast of any kind overnight in a crockpot with a little beef broth or water. Shred or cut up. Use about one pound per recipe, but the following may be doubled or tripled (and so on) to feed any size of group.

Return cooked beef to crock pot and add:

2 carrots, diced or sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1 chopped onion

2 potatoes cubed

1, 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 quart beef broth

1 T. Worcestershire Sauce

1 T. minced garlic

½ t. dill (or It's A Dilly Salt Free Seasoning)

2 T. Italian seasoning
1 T. Basil

1 T. white sugar

½ t. black pepper, freshly ground

Kosher salt to taste

Cook on low or high until vegetables are tender. (4-6 hours – 6 low, 4 high)

One hour before serving add: ½ cup barley.

This also works well on the stovetop.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I have searched for this recipe to give credit.  I'm pretty sure I found it online, but I know not where.  It is FABULOUS tasting and easy to make. I put the rice on to cook first and then start the rest. By the time the rice is needed, it's ready. This is an easy recipe to cut in half if you need less soup, but it keeps well and we love the leftovers for lunches.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

2 pounds ground beef

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 small onion chopped

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

-------------------------

2 quarts Beef Broth

4 cans (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, un-drained

3 cups cooked rice

2 cups chopped peppers (any mix is fine, green, red, black, yellow, orange, Anaheim, etc.)

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

Instructions

In a Dutch oven, cook beef with salt, pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are tender.

Optional:  top with cheese to serve

Yield: 12 large servings 

Tomato Basil Soup

I  I found this delicious recipe on the “How Does She” blog.  Everyone at our house thinks it is divine!

2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes (reserve juice)
 OR use diced

2 TB brown sugar


4 TB butter


1 small onion chopped


2 TB tomato paste


2-3 TB flour


2 (15 oz) cans or one carton of chicken stock/broth


2 fresh red peppers roasted*


1 cup prepared pesto


1 1/2 cups half and half (low fat or fat free substitutes fine)

*Note: to roast peppers, cut them in half, clean out the seeds, and place them skin side up on a broiler pan. Broil them for about 20-25 minutes or until you notice the majority of the skin turning black. Don’t be alarmed, they’re not burned! Remove from oven and let cool in a bowl lined with a damp dishcloth and the dishcloth folded over the peppers. When cool enough to handle, peel off the black skins, and cut in large chunks. DO NOT skip the red peppers, they’re the secret ingredient!

Directions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil. Squeeze the seeds out of tomatoes and discard.  Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with brown sugar. Bake until liquid is evaporated and tomatoes caramelize (about 30 min).

Heat butter, onion, and tomato paste in large pot. Saute until onions soften.   Add flour and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually add chicken stock and reserved tomato juice.  Bring to a boil. Add tomatoes and peppers and puree until smooth with an immersion blender, or remove from pot in small batches and puree in a food processor or blender. Return to pot, simmer 15 minutes. Five minutes before serving, add pesto and half and half.

Green Chili, Chicken & Lime Soup

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2  medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons of minced garlic, fresh or from a jar

47 oz chicken broth, (I use 1 carton + 1 can)

10 oz can rotel tomatoes, mild

7 oz can diced green chilies

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper (I grill them)

1 1/4 cup cooked rice of choice

2 – 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinches of Kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Fresh diced avocados, drizzled with lime juice

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

1.  Place oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Sauté the onion for 5 minutes and then add in garlic; cook for 1 minute. 

2. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, chicken breast, rice, lime juice, and seasonings.  Cook for 5 minutes; taste and season according to your liking.  Right before serving add chopped cilantro.

3.  Serve soup with fresh diced avocado, shredded cheese and crushed chips if desired. 

4-6 servings