The weather has been crazy in LA. Bitterly cold (you know, like 50 degrees. Wah-wah). Then hot. Rainy and windy. Cold. Nice. Hot. Cold. It’s enough to give a flip-flop loving girl whiplash! Because I am brilliant, I made a big pot of Navy Bean Soup—on the hot days. Oops.
In my quest to be put a few extra pennies back in my totally cute wallet, I used dried beans over the fancy beans in the cans, and it couldn’t be easier—put them in a pan and cover them with water. Okay, I forgot to do this until I was already in bed. But I crawled out of bed, staggered into the kitchen and managed to do this half-asleep.
You should know Max chose to stay snug-as-a-bug in bed. Lazy cat.
Or maybe he’s a smart cat.
Regardless, the soup was divine and so easy to make. The soup reheats beautifully too, which made for some nice, easy peasy weekday lunches.
Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried navy beans
- 4 slices uncooked bacon chopped
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 cup carrot chopped
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ham bone or ham hock
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, cover beans with cold water. Soak overnight then drain before using.
- Cook the bacon in large soup pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add onion, carrots, and celery to bacon fat (if there is a lot, remove excess) and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add water, ham bone, oregano, paprika, bay leaves, bacon, and drained beans. Mix well. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low, and cook for 3 hours until beans are tender.
- Remove ham bone and bay leaves. Cut up ham and add back to the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!