Bonnie's Best Bourbon Balls
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb Dried beans*
1 Leftover ham bone with meat
-on it
28 oz Undrained crushed peeled
-tomatoes**
1 c Baby carrots***; cut in half
-crosswise then sliced into
-long pieces
2 tb Olive oil
2 tb Unsalted butter
2 md Yellow onions; chopped
2 Ribs celery; chopped
4 lg Cloves garlic (4 to 6);
-minced
4 tb Dark brown sugar; packed
2 tb Sherry cooking wine
1/2 ts Salt; (1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon)
1/2 ts Crushed red pepper
1/4 ts Black pepper; (1/4 to 1/2
-teaspoon)
2 tb Fresh parsley; chopped
1 lb Dried beans*
1 Leftover ham bone with meat
-on it
28 oz Undrained crushed peeled
-tomatoes**
1 c Baby carrots***; cut in half
-crosswise then sliced into
-long pieces
2 tb Olive oil
2 tb Unsalted butter
2 md Yellow onions; chopped
2 Ribs celery; chopped
4 lg Cloves garlic (4 to 6);
-minced
4 tb Dark brown sugar; packed
2 tb Sherry cooking wine
1/2 ts Salt; (1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon)
1/2 ts Crushed red pepper
1/4 ts Black pepper; (1/4 to 1/2
-teaspoon)
2 tb Fresh parsley; chopped
Sort through beans, rinse, put into a large pot with 8 cups of hot water. Bring beans to a rapid boil, boil 2 minutes, remove from heat. Cover & let stand for 1 hour. Meanwhile, place leftover ham bone in another large pot, add 10 to 12 cups of water or enough water to cover ham. Bring to a rapid boil. I boiled the heck out of the ham. So much in fact that it took ALL the flavoring out of the meat so I didn't use ANY ham in the soup. It boiled for about 1 hour...I know... eeks! But, since I had the ham for awhile I did not feel guilty about not using it! If you want ham in your soup, don't boil the heck out of it :) ! After beans have sat for 1 hour, drain & rinse again. Put back into the large pot & drain the hot liquid from the ham over the beans. Throw out the remains of the ham. Put beans back on the stove, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes. Skim the surface of soup several times to remove any skum that comes to the top. Add tomatoes & carrots. Continue cooking. Meanwhile, heat olive oil & butter in a large skillet. Add onions, celery & garlic & saute until veggies are tender, but not overly brown! Add to soup along with remaining ingredients. Continue cooking until soup thickens & flavors have mingled. I left mine on the stove for a couple hours, lowering heat now & then.
Notes:
*Beans: I used a bag of the 16 soup mix beans. The small beans cook faster & thus thicken the soup, but then they aren't there to see in the soup; I like to look at the different sizes & colors. The bigger beans take longer to become tender. Maybe a mixture of the same size beans would be better.
**Tomatoes: I think I will start with a 15 oz. can next time & go from there. I think this would make the soup more "beanie". Or use a 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained & then cut up.
***Carrots: I would use 1/2 cup carrots next time...again, to make it more "beanie".
Remember to stir soup occasionally throughout the cooking process!! Greg thought this was great. Makes about 8 servings. Made this on 1/2/98. BMc1/98. Lynn Thomas' notes: Made this 1-6-97; omitted oil, added 1 pkg. Healthy Choice Polska Kielbasa, put everything into the crockpot and let it cook for at least 12 hours.
Notes:
*Beans: I used a bag of the 16 soup mix beans. The small beans cook faster & thus thicken the soup, but then they aren't there to see in the soup; I like to look at the different sizes & colors. The bigger beans take longer to become tender. Maybe a mixture of the same size beans would be better.
**Tomatoes: I think I will start with a 15 oz. can next time & go from there. I think this would make the soup more "beanie". Or use a 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained & then cut up.
***Carrots: I would use 1/2 cup carrots next time...again, to make it more "beanie".
Remember to stir soup occasionally throughout the cooking process!! Greg thought this was great. Makes about 8 servings. Made this on 1/2/98. BMc1/98. Lynn Thomas' notes: Made this 1-6-97; omitted oil, added 1 pkg. Healthy Choice Polska Kielbasa, put everything into the crockpot and let it cook for at least 12 hours.