Black Bean and Ham Bone Soup #NationalSoupSwapDay

Happy National Soup Swap Day.  You have come to the right place if you are looking for a piping hot bowl of soup to chase those winter chills away.

Do you still have a hambone in your freezer from the holidays?  Well, today is the day to pull it out because do I have a great soup for you!

Adapted from a recipe published in the Washington Post in 2011, this black bean soup makes a perfect lunch or light dinner.  I served it as the first course of a dinner party I held where one of my guests was gluten intolerant.  Then we enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the following day.

I made this on the stove top but it would be easily adaptable to a crockpot or Instant Pot application.

Don't forget to stop by and see all the wonderful soups being swapped today.  There are soups to keep your family warm and toasty for the rest of this frigid winter we have been enduring.

Black Bean and Ham Bone Soup

adapted from The Washington Post

2 c. dried blacked beans, picked over

1 meaty ham bone

2 (32 oz) boxes chicken broth or 8 c. homemade broth

1 bay leaf

1 T. olive oil

1/2 lg. Vidalia onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 t. paprika

pinch dried oregano

1/2 cup tomato salsa (my recipe here )

1/4 c. dried sherry

Sour cream and chopped parsley or cilantro, if desired

Place the beans in a bowl and cover generously with water.  Let soak overnight.  Drain and place into a large pot with the ham bone.  Add the chicken broth and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2-3 hrs., until beans are tender.  Remove ham bone and bay leaf. Remove meat from bone and chop into bite size pieces, discarding any gristle, bone and the bay leaf.

Using an immersion blender, puree about half of the soup.  Alternately, remove half of the soup to a blender or food processor to puree and then return to the pot.  Add the meat to the soup.

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook the onions and garlic until fragrant and tender, about 10 minutes.  Season with the paprika and add to the soup along with the salsa and sherry.  Cook over low heat for another 10 minutes or until ready to serve.

Garnish with sour cream and parsley or cilantro if desired.  Print Recipe

More Soups to Swap

• Basil Turkey Soup by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Black Bean and Ham Bone Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Easy Cream of Broccoli Soup by Simple and Savory.com
• Middle Eastern Meatball Soup with Vegetables by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Port Wine Cream of Mushroom Soup by The Redhead Baker
• Rich and Easy Clam Chowder by Books n’ Cooks

No Soak Bean Soup in the Crockpot for the final day of #SoupWeek

Welcome to the last day of #SoupWeek, hosted by Sue, of A Palatable Pastime.  Today I am sharing a wonderful bowl of soup made from the ham bone left from Christmas Dinner.  I love when we have ham just so that I can enjoy ham sandwiches during the following week and use the bone to make soup.  

Split Pea, Ham Vegetable Barley, 13 Bean and, of course, Navy Bean  have all been made and posted on this blog.  When I went to make this soup, I had originally planned on using canned beans but I didn't put "canned" on my list for Frank so ended up with dried.  We were going to be gone all day and I had intended on throwing together a quick dinner when we got home using the canned bean. Of course, I forgot about the change in plans and didn't soak my beans the night before.  We were leaving and I didn't have time to precook the beans and use the "fast" soak method.  Instead of scrapping my plans completely, I threw everything in the crockpot and walked out the door. 

When we came back home, about 7 hrs. later, the house smelled wonderful.  I removed the ham bone, cut off and returned the meat and tried a bean.  It was still a little al dente so I left it to cook for another 2 hrs and we had dinner an hour later than planned.  It was worth the wait and my days of soaking beans overnight are over.

No Soak Bean Soup

1 meaty ham bone

2 lbs dried navy beans, picked over

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 strips celery, chopped

8 c. chicken stock

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low 8-10 hrs.  Remove bone, cut meat into bite size pieces and return to crock.  Cover and cook on low for another 2-4 hrs, until beans reach desired tenderness.  Taste, season with additional salt and pepper, if needed, remove bay leaf and thyme sprig before serving.  Print Recipe

Friday's Posts

• Mom's Clam Chowder from Palatable Pastime
• Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup from Cooking with Carlee
• Classic Skillet Chili from The Frugal Pantry
• No Soak Bean Soup in the Crock Pot from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Easy Wonton Soup from Caroline's Cooking
• Spinach Artichoke Soup from Can Cook, Will Travel

Kale and Squash Soup for Day 4 of #SoupWeek

I hope you have been enjoying all the wonderful soups we have been sharing all week.  If you haven't had a chance to see them yet you can follow along on FaceBook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram using the hashtag #SoupWeek. We also have a #SoupWeek Pinterest Board where you can see all of the offerings in one easy to access spot! What a great way to stay warm in cold weather!

Welcome to the #SoupWeek, hosted by Palatable Pastime.

Today I am sharing a brothy Italian soup that I adapted from one found at Food & Wine.  It was a wonderful first course for an Italian dinner that we shared with friends.  I wanted a light soup because it was being followed with Chicken Marsala Lasagna Roll-ups which were very rich and decadent. This soup was perfect.  It is filled with healthy vegetables and takes only minutes to put together.  It can be made ahead of time and reheated right before serving.

I adapted this recipe in several ways, in the ingredients used and in the preparation.  I did stick to the spirit of the soup and was absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out.

Kale and Squash Soup

adapted from Food&Wine

2 T. good olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2" cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. dried Italian herbs

1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped

8 c. chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. small pasta (I used stars)

1 (15 oz) can navy beans, drained and rinsed

Shaved Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over med high heat.  Add the onion and squash.  Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and the squash is browned in spots.  Stir in the garlic and Italian herbs.  Add the kale and cook, stirring until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Add the stock, navy beans and pasta, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until kale and squash are fork tender and pasta is cooked through.  Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese, if desired.  Print Recipe

Thursday's Soups

• Meatball Soup from Palatable Pastime
• K.C.'s Seafood Chowder from Cooking with Carlee
• Creamy Chicken Soup from The Frugal Pantry
• Kale and Squash Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Leftover Bean Salsa Chili #SoupWeek

It's Day 3 of Soup Week.  Prior to this week, Sue of  A Palatable Pastime invited us to post any past soup recipes we had shared to the Pinterest page.  Wow.....I have posted A LOT of soups!  It took me a good while to share them all on pinterest and that didn't include this week's recipes.

It's all good though because I love soup.  Every season is a reason for soup in my book.  In fact, I like soup and stews so much that I have started a new group called Soup Saturday Swappers.  Our first posts go live on the 21st of this month which just happens to be National Soup Day.

This soup was created to use up some Bean Salsa that I had made to take to a holiday party.  This recipe makes a ton.  I placed half of it into a bowl surrounded by chips on a platter that I was giving to the Bendas, who were throwing the party, as a hostess gift.  I had half left that I had put into my refrigerator planning on serving it here during the holidays as well.

Bean Salsa
adapted from my friend, Bob's, recipe

1 (15 oz) can Navy Beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
1 small jar diced pimentos, drained
1 small can diced green chiles, drained
1 lg. jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 handful cilantro leaves, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 small sweet  onion, chopped
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. sugar

Place all the beans, corn, pimentos, chiles, jalapeno, cilantro, pepper, celery and onion into a large bowl.  In a small saucepan over med high heat bring the oil, vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Let cool and pour over the vegetables. Refrigerate overnight.  Let stand at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.  Print Recipe

We were scheduled to have Chili on the Weekly Menu for the Monday following the party hosted by the Bendas.  When I went into the pantry for the beans I remembered that I had the remaining bean salsa in the refrigerator.  I knew that this would make a great base for my chili dinner that evening. We loved it!! I don't normally add peppers, corn or celery to my chili but after this version I am rethinking that for sure.

Bean Salsa Chili

1 lb. ground beef

2 t. chili powder or more to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 c. leftover Bean Salsa (recipe above)

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with chiles

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

Place ground beef in a large pot or dutch oven, season with chili powder, salt and pepper.  Cook over med high heat until browned.  Drain if necessary.  Add bean salsa, tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes for flavors to meld.  Print Recipe

I hope you enjoy this and all the other soups being shared today.  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to see what we have in store for you.

Wednesday's Soups

• Cheat 'n' Eat Vietnamese Soup from Palatable Pastime
• Pulled Pork Enchilada Verde Soup from Cooking with Carlee
• Leftover Bean Salsa Chili from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Italian Wedding Soup #SoupWeek

This lovely soup made of chicken broth, laced with greens and studded with tiny meatballs is not just for weddings.  It is easy enough to serve any day and elegant enough to make an appearance at your most cherished celebrations.

I served this up on a cold November evening at a dinner party for some of our dive family.  I was serving Italian for dinner and wanted to start with a soup other than Minestrone.  I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com and decided to try it.  I'm glad I did.  It is a warm, comforting soup and was the perfect start to a casual, relaxed dinner party.

I am sharing this recipe with you today as part of our #SoupWeek party being hosted by Sue of A Palatable Pastime.  Today is Day 2 and we will be back each day with more of our favorite soup recipes to warm you on these cold winter nights.

Italian Wedding Soup
slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
2 T. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
8 c. chicken broth
1 head escarole, thinly sliced
1 c. uncooked small pasta (I used stars)
1 carrot, thinly sliced

Place the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs and cheese into a bowl.  Using clean hands, combine ingredients thoroughly and shape into small meatballs about 3/4" round.  Set aside.

Heat chicken broth to boiling in a large soup pot.  Stir in the escarole, pasta, carrots and meatballs. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook at a slow boil for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Print Recipe

Tuesday's Soup Week Offerings

• Vegetable Beef Soup from Palatable Pastime
• Maw-Maw's Chili Mac Soup from Cooking with Carlee
• Italian Wedding Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm