Bean and Bacon Soup

Surprise! ANOTHER Food For Thought Friday! Well, I don't have the picture on the computer so I was going to wait and do this one until I did get the picture, but I decided that I will never do it if I wait, so the picture will have to come later.

My favorite soup from the can is Bean and Bacon soup. I LOVE it, and this recipe is very similar, but much better than the canned version.

This is an altered recipe of Paula Deen's. I think it works great for the season- I used leftover ham from Thanksgiving to make it, and a Christmas ham would work great for this too.

3/4 C dry navy beans

3/4 C dry red beans

1-2 C ham, or 6 slices of bacon

1 carrot

1 red bell pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 t paprika

2 1/2 c chicken broth, or more to desired thickness

1 16-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

To quick-soak the beans, place them in a pot and add 4 cups of water. Bring the water to boil, and boil it for 1 minute. Remove the pot from heat and let the beans sit for an hour. Meanwhile, fry the bacon (or ham) in a pan until crisp. Crumble the bacon, and return to pan with the carrot, and bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the onion, an d garlic and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in the paprika. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes longer to develop the flavor of the paprika. Next, combine all of the ingredientsl in a crock pot and let it cook all day on low until the beans are as tender as you want them. About 6-8 hours. Or, simmer it on the stove in a pot for 2 hours. Thin the soup with the chicken broth. Remove and discard the bay leaf.