Whole Foods: 15 Bean Soup with Pork

I love soup, but some of them can be a little wimpy. They’re more of an appetizer than a meal. This is not one of those soups! It is hearty, filling, and full of smokey flavor. Add some crusty bread and a salad, and you’ll be quite full.

This soup is perfect for incorporating some of the most important whole food ingredients and techniques: dry beans, homemade bone broth, healthy fats, and seasonal vegetables. It is already quite a frugal meal, but if you want to save even more money you can substitute leftover ham (cube the left over meat and add it and the bone to the crock pot) for the pork chop and bacon. Wonderful use for leftover holiday ham. You could also leave the meat out altogether if you desire. Just don’t forget to soak your beans!

15 Bean Soup with Pork

Author/Source:

Kim @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces 15 bean soup mixture, soaked overnight (throw out spice packet)
• 1.25 pounds pork chop, on the bone
• .33 pound bacon (about 4 strips)
• 1 cup large onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 5 large carrots, diced
• 4 teaspoons garlic cloves, minced
• 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 4 cups chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• .25 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Soaked beans.

Note: Don’t forget to soak the beans overnight! For better digestion of the beans, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to your soaking water. Rinse thoroughly before you add soaked beans to the soup.

Drain and rinse soaked beans. Set aside. In a large pan, saute bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan reserving about two tablespoons of the drippings. Cool and chop. Fry pork chops in one tablespoon of reserved bacon drippings. Cook 7-8 minutes each side or until browned. Remove and set aside. In the remaining tablespoon of bacon drippings saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add diced tomatoes and stir to combine. In a slow cooker combine soaked beans, onion/tomato mixture, chopped, cooked bacon, pork chops, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, salt, and lemon juice. Pour chicken broth over the ingredients (should be enough to just cover ingredients), and stir gently to combine. Cook in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low. Remove bay leaves and pork chops from the soup. Cut the meat off the bones and return to the soup. Stir in fresh parsley.

Freezing Directions:

Cool soup and divide among freezer bags. Freeze until ready to serve. TO SERVE: Thaw and reheat on the stove top or in the microwave.

Servings: 12

This Post will be linked at:

• Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
• These Chicks Cooked Weekly Recipe Collection at This Chick Cooks
• Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gormet
• Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 7:00 am and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.