You asked.
10 cups water, divided
2 cups dried beans, mixed*
2 T olive oil or butter
1/4 lb bacon
1/2 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey if desired
1/2 cup carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes (the big size), undrained
1 cup corn - frozen kernels
1 small white potato, cubed
1/4 cup uncooked barley or 1/2 cup uncooked pasta, optional
1 teaspoon each dried: oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme (any or all) maybe a bay leaf, too.
1/2 teaspoon cayenne - adjust heat level to your preference
Spinach or kale, if desired.
Salt and pepper to taste
In stock pot, heat 4 cups water, add beans and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, cover and remove from heat. Let soak for at least 1 hour. (Alternately, you can soak overnight if you prefer) Drain beans, wash pot and set on medium low heat. Saute meats in oil or butter until browned and bacon is crisp. Spoon off all but about 2 T of the drippings. Add carrot, onion, celery and garlic and cook until soft. Add 6 cups of water, undrained tomatoes, drained beans, diced potatoes, corn and spices. If using barley, add now. If using pasta, add for the last half hour. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (You can also put it in a crock pot at this point - if you have a big enough crock pot.) Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne. If it's too thick, add water or a small can of tomatoes and heat through. If it's too thin, add 1/4 additional pasta and cook for another half hour. If you're adding spinach or kale, throw a couple of hand fulls in near the end and stir it around until it wilts.
Makes about 8-10 servings depending on the size of your bowl. Calories: yes, there are calories. I have no idea how many. If you're worried about that just add some kale - you'll feel better.
*about the beans... you can probably find a bag of premixed dry beans which works perfectly. You can also buy bags of every kind of beans they sell and mix them up in a big bowl. This way you have enough for several pots of soup, or, even better, you can measure out 2 cup portions, put in cute containers, sprinkle in dried spices, add a copy of the recipe and give it away. It really ups the cute factor if you package it in bags decorated by your kids or grands. Just saying.
Disclaimer - the photo above is not an actual representation of my soup. It's a professional shot so probably doctored up to look shiny and all.
Good thing I looked up this recipe. It dropped down below 80 today. Getting to be soup-weather. Who am I kidding, it's always soup weather, right? Hope it turns out good for you. Selah.
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