Bean Soup With Bacon

Ingredients

• 7 slices hickory smoked-thick sliced bacon
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 15 1/2 ounces great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 1/2 ounces pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth

Directions

1. 1

   Cut away any excess fat from strips of bacon.

2. 2

   Dice bacon, and add to a skillet; brown the bacon evenly.

3. 3

   Remove bacon from skillet, add to a 3-quart saucepan; but reserving the bacon grease.

4. 4

   Add the diced vegetables to the skillet; (along with the bacon grease) season with salt and pepper.

5. 5

   Saute vegetables in the skillet, for 4 minutes.

6. 6

   Add minced garlic to the skillet, and cook for 1 minute more.

7. 7

   Add the cooked vegetables to the saucepan, then add the beans, broth, and the thyme.

8. 8

   Cover saucepan, and bring soup to a simmer; simmer the soup for about 11 minutes, until the carrots seem cooked, but not overly cooked.

9. 9

   This makes 1-1/2 quarts of soup.

10. 10

    Note: for this recipe, I used Farmland's Hickory Smoked Thick Sliced Bacon. Also, when making this soup, the size of canned beans used in soup may vary. The first time I made this soup, I had added 1-(15.8 oz.) can of great northern beans, and the second time, I used 1-(15.5 oz.) can.