Bean Soup

Some mornings I stand in my pajamas, staring blankly at ingredients in my cupboard and think "What the RIP am I going to EVEN make today?!!" I had soaked beans the night before so I started with those.

Well, this morning was one of those times. So I did what I commonly do on those days. Grab my crock pot and start throwing things in it. Sometimes it's a gigantic failure. Other times, it's pretty good! I'd have to say tonight was more on the good then the bad side. My kids liked it and like I've said over and over again, they determine what goes on this blog and what doesn't. If they eat it, I consider it blogworthy. After I took the picture, I decided to add 2 cans worth of pureed beans to the pot to thicken it up into more of a dip-like consistency. Definitely should be done this way!

Bean Soup

3 cups dried beans (I used 2 cups pinto, one cup black)

10 cups water 

Soak beans overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse very well. Put in crock pot. Add:

6 cups water

2 jalapeno, diced finely with no seeds

4 roma tomato, diced finely

1 large onion (sweet!) diced finely

1/3 cup taco seasoning

1 package ranch dressing mix
2 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 bay leaves

2 lbs ground beef, browned

Simmer everything on high in crock pot for 8 hours or so. Add liquid if necessary. 

Remove bay leaves  <------ (IMPORTANT).

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. 

This recipe makes almost 6 quarts of soup so downsize if you don't want to much. I like to freeze this kind of stuff in individual portions for reheating at a later time so that's why I made so much.