Our Familys Navy Bean Soup Recipes

OUR FAMILY'S NAVY BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Combine beans, water, tomatoes, onion, celery, garlic, ham, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, garlic, and bay leaf in a stock pot; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for two hours.
• Add additional water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional two hours. Discard bay leaf.
• ****if time allows, I often make a ham stock instead of using the bouillon and 1/2lb of ham. My family just prefers this to chunks of meat in a soup. I'll add the traditional stock ingredients and then use that to proceed with the soup recipe -- it's MUCH more flavorful this way. I'll also use the little flavor packet that comes with the navy beans. ****.

MY NAVY BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Clean and sort the beans. Place them in a large bowl with water to cover and soak for 3 hours.
• In a large pot over medium heat, combine the beans and the chicken stock and allow to simmer.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until onion is caramelized. Add this mixture to the pot.
• In the same skillet over medium high heat, saute the bacon for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is crisp. Drain the grease and add the bacon to the pot. Continue to simmer the soup over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the beans are tender and the soup has thickened.

MOM'S SIMPLE NAVY BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Pick over the beans, removing any small stones or beans that just don't look "right".
• Cover the beans with water in a crockpot (this is usually 2-3 cups of water).
• Now put the remaining ingredients in a soup pot or crockpot and simmer for another few hours.
• Mom usually mashes a cup or two of the beans to thicken the soup, but you don't need to do this if you prefer a clear broth.
• Remove the ham hocks and carefully pick apart, removing the tiny bits of meat from the bones.
• Return the meat to the soup.
• Throw out the bones, gristle and skin from the ham hocks.
• If you've put the hocks in cheesecloth, it helps to keep the little bones that can resemble beans from making their way into the soup as the hocks tend to disintegrate during cooking.
• If the soup has cooled considerably, get the heat back up and serve.

NAVY BEAN SOUP I

Steps:

• Combine beans, water, tomatoes, onion, celery, garlic, ham, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, garlic, and bay leaf in a stock pot; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for two hours.
• Add additional water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional two hours. Discard bay leaf.

HEARTY NAVY BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse and sort beans; soak according to package directions., Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. Place in a Dutch oven. Add the tomatoes with juice, onion, ham hock, broth, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 1-1/2 hours., Add more water if necessary. Remove ham hock and let it stand until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bone; discard bone. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces; set aside. (For a thicker soup, cool slightly, then puree beans in a food processor or blender and return to pan.) Return ham to soup and heat through. Garnish with parsley if desired.