White Bean and Ham Soup

Its cold here in Seattle. I wouldn't say record breaking, but frigid comes to mind. Perfect for a soup night. I had just about everything for this soup so I figured it'd be a good one to try. I happen to love white bean and ham soups so I was excited to make this one. 

Its not off much, if at all, from the other ones I've made, so it feels weird calling it a new recipe, but I'm doing it anyhow. My blog. My rules. 

This recipe doesn't have celery and has paprika. 

This recipe has potatoes, parsley and hot sauce.

Close enough. The only think I didn't put in this recipe was the bay leaf. I have yet to be shown just what that adds to a soup. They're expensive and so I don't bother. 

White Bean and Ham Soup

Recipe from To Simply Inspire

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup onion diced
• ½ cup celery diced
• ½ cup carrots diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cans Cannellini white beans drained and rinsed (15.5 ounce cans)
• 2 cups cooked ham diced
• 1 bay leaf

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat

Then add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until they are tender.

Add the chicken stock, beans, diced ham, and the bay leaf.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes until warmed through.

Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Taco Soup

Well the sun is out here in Seattle. It's supposed to be 70F by Saturday. Looks like soup season might be winding down. 

This soup... oh my goodness...I am not even sure what to say about it other than it was FAN-FREAKIN-DELICIOUS!! It's definitely going into the favorites category for this year. 

It's a simple soup, but it packs a lot of flavor and textures. It's definitely hearty.  And the best part I had almost everything in the pantry to make this soup. I didn't have diced tomatoes with green chilies. BUT I had diced tomatoes and a can of green chilis. Close enough. 

I didn't change anything in this recipe (well except the diced tomatoes) significantly. I added a hit of hot sauce and a bit more chili powder. I served it along side warmed up flour tortillas - great for dipping in the broth.

Taco Soup

Recipe from The Clean Couple

Serves 4

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup onion chopped (1 medium onion)
• ½ tablespoon garlic minced (about 4 cloves)
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 quart beef broth low or no salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 can black beans drained & rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans drained & rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn thawed

In a soup pot, heat olive oil. Brown beef, onions and garlic for 10-12 minutes until cooked.

Add in tomatoes, broth, spices, beans and corn.

Stir together. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

The original website with this recipe has instructions for Instant Pot and Crock Pot.

Crazy Old Bag Lady’s Bean & Ham Soup

Did I mention it's cold here in Seattle? It was 13F when I got up yesterday and it never got higher than 19F. BRRR. A cold day means soup to me. Thankfully when I planned for this week's meals I planned a soup meal seeing that the cold weather was coming. 

My dad loved white bean and ham hock soup. We had it at least once a year and I loved it. It's an easy soup to make for me. This recipe is a variant of that soup and is way easy to make too. 

It does require you plan ahead and buy beans to soak. I'm telling you, soaking your own beans makes a world of difference in a soup. They're also less expensive than canned beans. If you're in a pinch, you can swap in canned beans for the soaked beans, just cut down on the water. 

I did not have leftover ham so I bought a thick ham steak and diced it. I love those ham steaks and I use them all the time. 

I managed to forget potatoes again. I think I have a blind spot for potatoes and when I see them in a soup or stew recipe I think I'll remember and don't put it on my grocery list. It's completely stupid to assume I'd remember. Honestly though, I didn't miss the potato in this soup. 

I also cut this recipe in half because I don't need enough soup for 10 people. 

Crazy Old Bag Lady’s Bean & Ham Soup

Recipe from Just A Pinch

Serves 10

• 1 lb navy beans
• 12 c water
• 2-3 c leftover ham; cut into chunks (you can use a ham hock as well, I just like a lot of meat in my soups)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 c chopped onion
• 1 c chopped celery
• 1 c chopped carrots
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 clove garlic, chopped
• 3-4 dash Louisiana hot sauce
• salt and pepper (fresh ground) to taste.
• 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

To soak beans: In a large bowl, cover beans with water by 2 inches and let soak for 8-10 hours (overnight) and drain.

In a large heavy pot, combine beans with ham hock or the chunk ham, bay leaf and 12 cups of water. Bring to boil and reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are just tender. Stir in onion, celery, carrot, potato, and garlic. Simmer for another hour or until soup is very thick.

Remove ham hock and strip off meat from the bone. Discard the rind and fat.

Stir meat into soup and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in parsley and serve hot.

Slow Cooker Chili (155 of 150)

Photo from Cafe Delites

It's a cold, wet December day here in Seattle. Perfect day for a nice cozy chili. I have a family chili "recipe" that I usually make. It's not really written down, it's just throwing chili stuff into a pot and letting it cook. That's how mom made it so that's how I make it. 

This recipe seemed really close to that recipe and in a slow cooker. The house smelled amazing and made me very hungry. 

I don't think 1 T of chili powder is enough for this my food, so I added another tablespoon. Add more (or less) if you like. 

And I didn't use green bell peppers because BLECH.

Everything else was spot on. Delicious and a recipe I'd make again. 

Slow Cooker Chili

Recipe from Cafe Delites

Serves 8

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
• 1 pound lean ground beef mince
• 1 pound beef sausage, (Angus beef or Italian sausage)
• 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes 
• 1 (24 oz) bottle tomato sauce 
• 1 (4 oz) can green chilies 
• 2 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
• 2 T chili powder (adjust to your tastes)
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cocoa powder (adjust to your tastes)
• 1 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed 

Toppings:

sour cream

cheddar cheese

green onions

fresh chopped cilantro

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and green peppers for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (30 seconds). Transfer mixture into a 6-quart slow cooker bowl.

Fry beef and sausage until browned. Drain off most of the fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons of fat with the beef; transfer meat into slow cooker bowl. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, bouillon, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, paprika, cocoa powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and sugar. Season with pepper to taste.

Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours if time allows, (or high heat for 2 hours).

Stir beans through and allow them to warm through (about 2 minutes).

Serve with desired toppings and sides: cornbread, corn chips, tortilla chips, crackers.

Best Ever Baked Beans (106 of 150)

Photo from Dance
Around the Kitchen

Again with the "best ever". I tell ya, if you put that in front of any recipe, it had better bring it. 

Tonight was Sunday dinner. We had a small group so I opted to forego the theme (Peruvian) and do ribs instead. Ribs are much easier in a small group (and less expensive). I did my famous ribs for the crew and as usual they loved them. The only time this family seems to be silent is when we're eating ribs. All you hear is "mmmmm". 

Along side ribs, I usually do Mom's Mac Salad and buy canned baked beans. This time, I opted for this broccoli salad and these "Best Ever" Baked beans. 

Let's start with what went wrong. 

I, um, didn't get burger. So these beans didn't get the burger in them. Honestly, I didn't miss them. Bakes beans don't get burger to me. 

What went right? These reminded me of the beans my mom used to make! I'd make these again (without burger) again in a heart beat. Super easy to make. 

I did mine in a slow cooker since I had the oven taken over by ribs. 

Best Ever Baked Beans

Recipe from Dance Around the Kitchen

Serves 18 (so I cut this bad boy in half)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 8 slices bacon
• One 28 ounce can pork and beans drained
• One 8 ounce can homestyle pork and beans
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Brown the ground beef, drain and set aside.

Cook the bacon until crispy in the oven or in a skillet. Let cool then crumble or chop into small pieces.

In a large mixing bowl (or in the slow cooker), combine the beans, ground beef, bacon, onions, sugar, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and vinegar.

Cook the beans:

In a slow cooker on high for 1 hour (stirring occasionally) or low for 2-3 hours OR

In a saucepan on medium-low heat for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) OR

In a baking dish in a 350°F oven for 1 hour