Bean Soup, the easy way

Winter is upon us, and once more time for some cooking. I discovered I can do an *EASY* pot of bean soup (or just beans and rice) with nearly any kind of dried beans. This is useful with the harvest from Ursula’s garden. I’ll do this three or four times this winter, supplementing with dried beans from the store when ours run out. The fact that I can get really good local chunk bacon is a bonus in this case, because beans and pork, what’s not to love?

Kevin’s Quick Bean Soup

Prep Time : 10-15 mins
Cook Time : 4-6 hours

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups Dried Beans (can be a single type or a mix)
• 1/2 to 1 lb chunk bacon
• 1 medium onion
• water
• salt to taste

Hardware

• Slow cooker
• Frying Pan
• Cutting board
• Your favorite sharp knife

Instructions

1. Place the dried beans in the crock pot
2. Dice the chunk bacon down to 1/4-1/2 inch cubes.
3. Roughly chop onion.
4. Place bacon in hot frying pan
5. Fry chunks until browned
6. Add the onions to the pan
7. Saute bacon and onions until the onions are tender
8. Pour contents of pan into crock pot (fat and all)
9. Return pan to heat and deglaze it with about 1 cup water.
10. Pour the jus from the pan into the beans.
11. Add a pinch of salt to the crock pot
12. Add water to the crock pot until about 2-2 1/2 inches above the dry contents and stir
13. Set on high for 4-6 hours (or 8-10 hours on low), stirring every so often (once an hour, tops).
14. Serve in a bowl over rice