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Bean Soup

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 6 hours
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 2 # 4 cups of mixed dry beans
  • 3 quarts water
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 smoked ham hocks or 1 large ham bone
  • 1 lb. of bacon cut into bite size pieces if you need more meat.
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 carrots sliced
  • 4 ribs of celery sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 teaspoon sweet basil
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder or red pepper to taste
  • 2 or 3 bay leaves
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes
  • or 6-8 of your own home grown tomatoes skinned.
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Soften the beans first: combine 1 part beans with 3 parts water, add the salt & baking soda and let this sit overnight.
  • Simmer the ham bone or hocks covered in water for 2-3 hours, then remove and cut the meat into small bite-sized pieces.
  • If using bacon, fry that first and cut into bite size pieces.
  • Skim the fat from the top of the water.
  • Rinse the beans.
  • Combine the beans and the meat in the pot with the stock you made, and add the rest of the ingredients except for the lemon juice and tomatoes (acidic ingredients can make the beans hard).
  • Simmer in the stock pot for 4 or 5 hours over low heat. Or, place in a 250 degree oven.
  • Add water as needed if you feel if it gets too thick.
  • ½ hour before serving, add the tomatoes and the lemon juice.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.