Monthly Archive

Here is a winter warm-me-up. I don’t measure, so I’ll tell you what’s in it and how you get there, but the amounts are up to you and how many people you’re serving, etc.

• Ingredients
• Bacon, chopped
• Onion, diced
• Celery, diced
• Carrot, diced
• Garlic, minced
• Tomato paste, 1 Tbsp.
• Chicken broth
• Bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• White beans, like navy beans, canned
• Flour
• Half-and-half, or milk

Stir fry the bacon, onion, celery, and carrot until the bacon is cooked. Drain off bacon grease, if any has accumulated. Over medium heat, add garlic and stir for about a minute. Stir in the tomato paste. Add chicken broth to cover mixture and a little bit more. Stir in bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender. Stir in beans. Add more broth to cover, then let it simmer awhile longer.

In a separate bowl stir together flour and a little half-and-half, or milk. A cup or so should do. Pour the dairy slurry into the soup pot and stir while it comes to a boil and thickens a little bit. You can always add more chicken broth, if needed.

Remove bay leaf and serve.

NOTES: If you want to use dried beans, then you’ll have to start early and rehydrate them according to directions I’m sure you can find elsewhere. I usually make this using one 14 oz. can of beans. I use 2 Tbsp. flour to about a cup of dairy liquid. Sometimes it’s really a thick soup and sometimes not. It’s all good. You could make this gluten-free by using gluten-free flour. You could make this dairy-free by omitting the slurry altogether. That is still a very good Bean with Bacon Soup, I just happen to like it with a bit of dairy.