15 Bean and Ham Soup

 

You will need: 

• 20 oz. Bag of Hurst's HamBeens Brand Cajun 15 Bean Soup Dried Beans with Hurst's Cajun Seasoning Packet Inside (don't use the whole packet, only use a heaping teaspoon of the Cajun Seasoning Packet towards the end of cooking time)  
• Package Farmland Brand Smoked Spiral Ham Slices and Pieces In Natural Juices, Fully Cooked, (I used a 1.25 pound package)
• 1 Can of diced tomatoes (undrained) 
• 1 Yellow onion chopped
• 2 Heaping teaspoons of minced garlic (refrigerated)
• 1/4 cup Chopped green and red bell pepper (I used frozen)
• 1 tsp. Sea salt
• Sprinkle of garlic powder
• Sprinkle of pepper and salt to taste when done
• Splash of apple cider vinegar (splashed in the last 30 minutes of cooking to reduce gas)

Place beans on a dish cloth and inspect them to remove any debris from the beans, (I have on occasion found small pebbles in dried beans before, so I don't skip this step). 

Place beans in a large bowl, cover beans with water, soak overnight or 8 hours

Drain beans in a colander and place them in a large pot or dutch oven pot, cover with fresh water, add package of spiral ham slices and pieces with juices, add a teaspoon of sea salt, undrained can of diced tomatoes, chopped yellow onion, minced garlic, sprinkle of garlic powder and pepper, and the chopped green and red bell peppers. Bring to a boil and then cover pot with lid and reduce heat to medium and cook at a slow boil simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 4-5 hours, adding more water as needed and turning down the heat to low after the beans get tender. About an hour before serving and when the beans are fairly tender, add 1 heaping teaspoon of the Hurst Cajun Seasoning that is included with the beans in a packet, I didn't add all of the packet because I didn't know how it tasted, and I didn't want my beans and ham to be cajun spicy, I just wanted some good flavoring. Note: I used a slightly heaping spoon full of the seasoning measured with a small spoon from my kitchen utensil drawer- instead of an actual measuring spoon, to measure out the seasoning..... that amount of seasoning was perfect, for our taste, very flavorful, it didn't need the entire package. About 30 minutes before serving add a splash of  the apple cider vinegar and more salt to taste and pepper to taste. 

Serve with sweet cornbread, we used Jiffy Brand Honey Cornbread

Servings: 6 Bowls

This makes a delicious pot of soup  that would feed a crowd or allow for a lot of leftovers. I have to say this is on our list of very favorite soups of all time! It does not taste like a cajun soup, I guess because I did not use but a heaping teaspoon of the season packet included with the beans, but it just has great flavor.  

Enjoy!

Tip: I've read recently, that anything in the ingredients that is acidic should be added to dry beans in the last 30 minutes of cooking to cut the acid, make the beans soft faster as they cook and cut gas in the beans. I suppose in this recipe that the beans would be tender quicker, if waiting to add in the undrained canned tomatoes until the last 30 minutes or so of cooking. I added my canned tomatoes at the beginning of cooking and it turned out great, but I may try adding them the last 30 minutes of cooking next time to see if there's a difference and to see if the beans get tender more quickly.  I'll update this post at a later date to tell you if there was a difference. I will say that  adding the splash of apple cider vinegar during the last 30 minutes of cooking did cut the amount of gas in the beans and make a difference in digesting the beans easier. I've also read that not adding the salt until the last part of cooking helps the beans get tender faster as well, but I just wasn't willing to take a chance on the beans  being not salted enough, so I added in some at the start of cooking and then more to taste when tender and ready to serve. 

Italian Chicken and Bean Soup Slow Cooker

 

You Will Need:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• medium yellow onion
• 3 tsp. minced garlic (or 3 garlic cloves chopped)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 (15 oz) cans white kidney beans (cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast tenderloin strips
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• grated parmesan cheese to garnish

In a skillet saute the onion and garlic in butter, place chicken in slow cooker add onion and garlic and other ingredients, (besides the spinach and parmesan cheese). Cover, cook on high 15 minutes then reduce heat to low and cook 5 hours, take out chicken strips and shred with two forks, add it back to slow cooker, then add the spinach, cook another hour or so, until the spinach is cooked and tender. Salt and pepper to taste, place in bowls and top with grated parmesan cheese. 

Serve with buttered Italian or French bread or toasted garlic bread

Enjoy!

Tuscan Bean Soup w/ Bacon

You Will Need:

• 8 slices of bacon chopped and cooked
• 3 celery stalks chopped
• 4 carrots chopped
• 2 shallots chopped
• 4 tsp. minced garlic
• 4 cups chicken broth (32 oz. carton)
• 4 cans cannellini  beans (white kidney beans) (drain 2, leave 2 undrained) 
• 1/2 cup half/half or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind) 
• sprinkle salt and pepper
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• sprinkle dried parsley

Chop vegetables and set aside, chop bacon and cook in a dutch oven large pot until browned, remove bacon with slotted spoon, cook shallots and minced garlic a few minutes, in a couple of Tbsp.of bacon grease. Add 1/2 of bacon (reserving some to top soup when serving), add veggies, beans, broth, rosemary, bay leaf salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and cook until vegetables are tender about an hour or two, (the longer it cooks the better the flavor). Remove bay leaf, and rosemary sprig from pot. Add half/ half, parsesan cheese and dried parsley sprinkled stir and cook until cheese is melted. Place in bowls and top with reserved bacon and top with more parmesan cheese.  

Serve with jiffy sweet cornbread

NOTE: This can also be cooked in the crock pot slow cooker, cook bacon as instructed above, then follow recipe by placing ingredients in crock pot, cook 4-6 hours on low. Add half/ half and parmesan cheese and sprinkling of parsley during last 15 minutes of cooking. Top with bacon and parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

You Will Need:

• 2 lb. bag frozen hash browns
• 8 oz. cream cheese cut into slices
• 32 oz. carton chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 pkg. precooked bag of real bacon bits
• grated medium cheddar cheese (for topping)
• chopped green onions (for topping) 

Dump everything into the crock pot except for the toppings, be sure to save a little bit of the bacon bits for topping. 

Cook on low 7-8 hours

When ready to serve ladle into bowls and top with cheddar cheese, green onions and a few bacon bits

Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Sweet Potatoes

You Will Need:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and chopped)
• 3 large carrots (peeled and diced)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (with juices)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz. size)
• 1 yellow onion (about a cup chopped)
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil for cooking and browning turkey
• 2 tsp. jarred minced garlic (or you can use 2 chopped fresh garlic cloves)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• optional toppings: cheddar cheese, green onions, cilantro, sour cream or plain yogurt.

Cook turkey meat in skillet with onion and bell pepper salt and pepper until turkey is browned, add to slow cooker, then add other ingredients besides the optional toppings 

You can serve this with sweet cornbread such as jiffy cornbread.  I like to eat my chili topped with cheese and green onion and eat with saltine crackers. 

Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Soup

You Will Need:

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2  onion chopped
• about 1 1/2 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken, Note: for this recipe I boiled a whole chicken. To do so, I put salt, pepper, and garlic powder on chicken, placed it in a large pot and covered it with water, brought it to a boil, then reduced heat to a slow boil, then covered with lid, and cooked for about an hour, or until no pink comes from chicken when it's poked with a fork.  (Tip: There's enough meat from the whole chicken to save half of it for another chicken recipe that calls for shredded chicken, I used my extra chicken to make chicken dumpling soup)
• 1 can black beans drained
• 1 can pinto beans drained
• 1 can corn undrained
• 32 oz. of chicken broth from boiled chicken or 32 oz. carton of chicken broth, (Note: since I boiled a chicken, I did use the chicken broth from the boiled chicken, but if you can use a carton of store bought chicken broth, either will work, but I do think the broth from boiled chicken has more flavor)
• 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder, plus some extra to sprinkle on whole chicken before boiling
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• salt and black pepper to taste and to season the chicken before boiling
• water as needed for desired consistency
• toppings sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onion, cilantro (optional)
• tortilla chips 

Heat oil, onion, jalapeno's for a few minutes on med-high temp.

Stir other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer a couple of hours... the longer it cooks the more flavorful it will be. When ready to serve, put into bowls and top with desired toppings.  Serve with tortilla chips. 

Tip:  You can add more jalapeno peppers, chili powder and cumin depending on personal taste. Just be sure to taste it after it's cooked a little while before adding more seasoning. 

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

You Will Need: 

• about a pound of boneless chicken strips (about 6-8 chicken strips)
• 1 Tablespoons of chili powder 
• salt, pepper and garlic powder, plus more chili powder
• 1 can cream of chicken soup 
• chicken broth carton 32 oz.
• water as needed for desired consistency 
• 1  (4 oz.) can of diced  green chilies fire roasted and peeled (medium)
• 4 to 6 cans (15 oz.) white kidney beans (cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
• 1 envelope dry onion soup (dip) mix 
• shredded cheddar cheese for topping
• sliced green onion for topping 
• tortilla chips or jiffy cornbread (or any brand of sweet cornbread) 

Grease bottom and sides of crockpot. Wash chicken strips, place in the bottom of a crockpot and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and some chili powder. Add cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, can of diced green chilies, white kidney beans (that you've drained and rinsed), envelope of dry onion soup mix and tablespoon of chili powder, mix ingredients together, try not to stir the chicken from the bottom too much. Turn crockpot on high heat for about an hour, turn it to low for about 4-6 hours. Stir after about 4 hours or so, if you can. About an hour before final cooking time, remove chicken strips from crockpot onto a plate and shred them with two forks, place back in the crockpot and stir. Note: The chicken strips will be already falling apart and they will be easy to shred, you may be able to just shred them inside the crockpot, sometimes I do. You can add hot water toward the end of cooking for desired consistency.  

Serve topped with cheddar cheese and green onion. You can serve it with jiffy cornbread or any sweet cornbread. 

Enjoy! 

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

For this recipe I used a crock pot
For this recipe you will need:

•  1 1/2 Pounds of Stew Beef Meat
• 4 Medium Potatoes (peeled and chopped into cubes)
• 1/2 Onion (chopped)
• 2 Carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 1 Can Stewed Tomatoes (optional, sometimes I add stewed tomatoes and sometimes I don't, it's good with or without them)
• 1 Can Corn (undrained)
• 1 Can Green Beans (drained and rinsed)
• Bag of Frozen Baby Lima Beans
• 1 package McCormick's Beef Stew slow cooker seasoning pack
• 3 cups water

Wash meat and put it into the crock pot, add potatoes, carrots, onion, stewed tomatoes (if adding them), corn, green beans, and baby lima beans, in a large measuring cup, mix water with the seasoning pack and pour it into the crock pot. Stir together. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours.
This is an economical and easy way to feed a crowd.
Serve with Garlic Bread or French Bread

Enjoy!

Potatoe Soup~ Cold Weather Comfort Foods

  You will need:

• 9 potatoes pealed and diced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 carrots diced small
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups milk
• 2 chicken bouillon cubed dissolved in 1/2 cup hot milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 slices bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
• grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot melt butter, add onion and carrots until both are tender. Stirring frequently. Once they are tender. Whisk in flour and stir well, cooking for a minute, then add potatoes, milk and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over med heat until potatoes are soft about 20 minutes. Stir occassionally. When pototoes are soft, Add the half and half, salt and pepper. Cook for an additonal 15 mintutes and simmer until ready to serve. When ready to eat, serve in bowls and Serve with crumbled bacon and grated cheddar cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

You will need:

• 1 Pound ground chuck 
• 1 Cup chopped yellow onion 
• 1 Cup chopped celery
• 1/2 Cup green bell pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Salt

Cook above in a small amount of cooking oil in skillet until vegetables are tender and meat is done. About 10 minutes, stir frequently. If there seems to be a lot excess grease, spoon some of it out with a large spoon.
Next you will need:

• 1 Can beef broth 15 oz.
• 2- Cans tomatoes 15 oz.
• 1-Can Kernel corn  (undrained)
• 1/2 tsp. Black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt and more to taste
• 4 Peeled cut up potatoes 
• 1 Can green beans 15oz.  (drained)
• 1/2 a bag of family size frozen lima beans or small pkg. of frozen lima beans 

Put the above in a soup pot and add meat and vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for about and hour. The longer it simmers the more flavorful it will be. Soup will thicken like a chowder.
Serve with garlic bread
Enjoy! 

Easy Chicken and Dumplings Soup~ Delicious Comfort Food

This recipe is easy and delicious.....great on a cold winter day.....

For this recipe you will need the following:

• 4 chicken pieces ( Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper. Cover the pieces with water in a large pot (I used a dutch oven pot). Then bring them to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook on med to med-high heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until juices run clear when a fork is inserted. Remove from broth, Cool~ Debone~ and Chop) Note: Save chicken broth you will need it
• Saved chicken broth from the water that you boiled your chicken in.
• 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (Campbell's)
• 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup (Campbell's)
• 1 can of 10 count big country jumbo biscuits (I used Great Value brand buttermilk )
• 4 boiled eggs (bring them to a boil and slow boil for about 13 minutes, then peel and chop)

After the chicken has been removed from the water that you boiled it in...do not pour out the water (broth)... save the broth and add more water if needed to have about what I have here in this large pot (dutch oven) Add the soups to the broth and stir well...bring it to a slow boil on med-high heat.....

While you are waiting for the broth and soups to come to a boil... get the biscuits ready. Take them out of the package one at a time and flatten them with a rolling pin. I use the back of a corelle flat plate to roll them out on....because it doesn't stick to it and I don't have to clean up a countertop.....it makes it easy.

Cut each biscuit in small pieces like this.....you can do this as you go, you will have time because you add the pieces one at a time.....

Once the broth mix has begun slowly boiling.....you drop the biscuits in piece by piece.....just drop them in one at a time and then stir ocassionally. After all of the biscuit pieces have been added....cook a few minutes on a slow boil.....between med to med-high heat....stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking......

Then add the chopped boiled eggs and chicken and stir...

Now, that everything has been added to the pot.....Cook on med. to low heat for about 30 to 45 minutes....or longer.....it just gets better the longer you cook it. TIP: You just want the soup to slowly boil....be sure to stir it occasionally to prevent sticking.....

It will look like this as it cooks......

This is what it looks like when it's done. 

You'll probably need to salt and pepper to taste now, ....it's delicious wonderful comfort food.....this is a recipe was passed down by my husband's mother.  She shared it with me many years ago.

Enjoy~

Homemade Chilli~ Easy Recipe~ Cold Weather Comfort Food

You will need: 

• a pound of ground chuck or hamburger meat,
• 
  
•  half of a yellow onion chopped, 
• garlic glove chopped, 
• can of Del Monte Italian Stewed Tomatoes chopped,
• can of light red kidney beans drained, 
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar, s
• small can of tomatoe sauce, 
• 2 Tablespoons of McCormick Chilli Powder, 
• For serving you'll need Bisquick garlic cheese biscuits from the package, or Jiffy sweet cornbread or your favorite crackers.....whichever you prefer. I like the Garlic Cheese Biscuits the best...

Brown the hamburger meat with the chopped onion and garlic on med-high heat.......

When it's browned, drain it in a colander.....return it to the pot,

Then add all of the other ingredients to the pot........bring to a boil and then simmer it for about 30 min. to an hour......cook your garlic cheese bisquick biscuits or corn bread while the chilli is simmering...

then when it is done, it will look something like this.

Enjoy~