Big Weather's Big Recipe: Navy Bean Soup

With the cold weather this week it seemed like a good week to post a soup recipe. I love soups. This one is SO easy, delicious, and not for newlyweds. Long time married couples will get that joke (BEANS). Here it is:

Ingredients

Water for soaking (enough to cover the dry beans)

1 lb. Dry Navy Beans

6 cups of water

2 large Carrots, chopped

3 stalks Celery, chopped

2 Chicken Bouillon cubes

1 Tbsp. of dried Parsley

1 tsp. of Salt

1/2 tsp. of ground Black Pepper

1/2 envelope of Onion Soup mix

1 cup Ham, diced

Preparation

1. Soak the beans overnight. Drain, throwing out the water

2. Add all ingredients, including 6 cups of new water, (except ham) go into the pot and heat it until boiling.

3. Turn it to medium heat and let simmer for a half hour.

4. Add ham and cook for an additional half hour.

That's it. It's ready to serve. It's hearty, filling, low in fat, and great with my homemade cornbread. I'll add that recipe in a couple of weeks. I actually let it cook for an extra half hour on the stove to get more of the liquid out of there and it thickened up. Also, I forgot to soak my beans the night before, so I used canned beans. They worked just fine. BTWs... You can also do this in a crockpot. Just cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Then throw the ham in for the last half hour. Good luck and good eating!