Down Home Bean Soup

 

1 lb dry navy beans

2 carrots shredded

3 garlic cloves minced

1 small-medium onion chopped

2 ham hocks or chopped up ham

1 teaspoon salt

13 whole peppercorns

5-6 cups water

2 teaspoons chicken bullion

 

Rinse and sort beans.  Place in stock pot with 6-8 cups cold water.  Cover; let set overnight 6-8 hours.  Drain off water and rinse. OR place beans in 6-8 cups of water bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let set for one hour. Drain and rinse beans.

Put beans in a crock pot.  Add all other ingredients.  Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours.  Remove ham hocks and pick off meat.  Place meat back into soup.  (If you just used chopped ham pieces you won’t have to do this step.)

 

Serve with big hunks of homemade bread and enjoy!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

1 medium head of broccoli cut into pieces (***you can use the stalks! Don’t pitch them!  Just peel off tough outer skin and then dice up the soft centers)

1/4 cup  chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups chicken broth or water (if using water add 4 teaspoons of chicken boullion to it to make a broth)

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon Worshteshire sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook broccoli, covered, in small amount of salted water. Cook until tender 10-15 minutes. Drain and chop coarsely.

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender, but not brown.  Blend in flour.  Add chicken broth, milk and worshteshire sauce.  Cook and stir until mix thickens slightly.

Add chopped broccoli.  Bring just to a boil.  Reduce heat and add cheese. Stir until melted.

Yield: 8 servings

Basil Tomato Soup

2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes

2 cups water

2 teaspoons chicken boullion

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup milk

6 Tablespoons butter

Place tomatoes in blender and blend until smooth.  Place tomatoes, water, and boullion in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add basil, garlic salt, pepper and sugar. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low; Stir in milk and butter. Cook until butter is melted.

*original recipe on Allrecipes alterations made by me.

 

This soup is wonderful! I couldn’t get enough of it and had steaming mugs of it for several days.  It was so easy to make, yet so delicious!