Bean and Bacon Soup

We often buy things in bulk when they’re on sale.  This time we stocked up on bacon.  Todd and I both have a weakness of bacon.  If we allowed ourselves, we’d be perfectly content eating bacon every morning for breakfast.  But we don’t.  In fact, we probably average once or twice per month.  But I do cook a little more frequently than that with bacon.  Even a little bacon goes a long way in adding depth to a dish.  You don’t get a whole lot of fat and nitrates that way but you do get a lot of flavor.  And oh what a flavor it is!

This is a simple, easy soup to make and it’s a great way to use up any beans you’ve had sitting in your cupboard.  We try to rotate our food storage fairly regularly and had a ton of beans that needed to be used.  So I’ve been making chili and various bean dishes to use them up.  Beans are a great source of protein, they’re filling, inexpensive, and are pretty versatile.  You can make bean flour, bean burgers, and my mom makes a killer bean lasagna, just for example.

Here’s a yummy a soup I threw together after reorganizing our food storage.  Nothing fancy, just a good, hearty, flavorful, satisfying soup.  I made a huge pot of it and it kept Todd stocked for work lunches for a couple of days and I froze the rest.  Our 18 month old daughter sure loved it!  She picked out the beans, tomatoes, carrots and celery and enjoyed every last morsel – several helpings of it.

This is a great comfort soup for a cold Winter’s night.

Let’s get started!

Soak the beans overnight in a large pot of water.  When ready to use, drain, rinse and drain them again.

Fry the bacon until crispy.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and all seasonings.

Add the beef broth.  Stir to combine.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.