I enjoy cooking. I love trying new things, learning how flavors blend, or don’t, with different combinations. I am tantalized by the aroma that fills the house and how it aids in the anticipation of the culinary offering that I will be bringing to the table. However, I do not always have a lot of time to spend preparing every meal. Running around trying to keep up with all of our schedules can be tough and sometimes I have to just throw something together quickly.

Earlier this week my wife was not feeling well, her throat was bothering her. She wanted soup for dinner. Well this was not really what I was planning on making, but I am flexible. Besides, keeping Momma happy is always top priority and very beneficial to me in the long run. I knew I had probably had some items on hand that would make a great quick soup.

As much as I enjoy the wonderful flavor of my go to vegetable soup, I just wasn’t in the mood. My taste buds were also not excited about having a noodle based soup. So after glancing through what was in the pantry and fridge, I had an idea. Everyone in my house loves beans , we always have some on hand, and of course who doesn’t love bacon? So I threw together a quick Bean and bacon soup. When I say quick, I mean it was real quick, under an hour. I am pretty sure if there had been no interruptions by my wonderful little minions, It would have been close to a 30 minute meal.

As with all soups, this could easily be done in a slow cooker. The extra time simmering would allow for the flavors to develop even more. You could also substitute dry beans. Nevertheless, this was put together as a crunch time, take care of Mamma meal so I used canned beans.

The recipe basically unfolded as follows:

 BEAN AND BACON SOUP 

 4 cans Great Northern Beans

2 14 oz cans chicken broth (I like Swanson’s low sodium)

1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce

½ lb package of bacon (it’s what I had but more is always better with Bacon IMHO)

3 celery stalks finely chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 large onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt –to taste ( I used 1 teaspoon and added more at the table mainly trying to cut back on salt intake )

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

2 splashes (or more I really didn’t measure it) of Worchester Sauce

2 teaspoons flour

½ cup of hot water

 

I sliced the bacon into about 1 inch squares and browned it on the stove top over medium heat. I did this in the pot I was using for the soup so this was a one pot meal, I love easy clean up.

 

 

 

 

I added the onions, bell pepper, and celery in with the bacon and cooked then until translucent. Thinking back, I should have set some of the bacon off to the side to use as a garnish as well as chopped some green onions. I will have to do that the next time.  The kids requested I remember this one and fix it again some time, so YAY! A win for Dad.

 

I added the rest of the ingredients , except flour and hot water, into the pot and raised the temperature to high. Blend the flour in with the hot water and add to the soup when it starts to boil. Lower the temp and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness and ready to serve.

 

 

 

As simple as the recipe was, my kids and wife devoured it. It was so full of flavor, the smokiness of the bacon paired with the paprika very nicely and the thickness of the soup really offered a satisfying comfort food quality to this dish. I hope you enjoy it as well.