North Woods Bean Soup
North Woods Bean Soup recipe
Cooking Light, January 2002
Being as the storm of the century has hit, I needed a recipe where I had MOST of the ingredients and this one won out. I had the sausage, the beans (not canned), garlic and chicken broth. I didn’t have spinach, onions and carrots. I used parsnips and shallot instead and omitted the spinach. Yes, I had a shallot in the fridge and no onions. Go figure!
I quick soaked the beans (cover with hot water, bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes, then let stand 1 hour) so I could use them in this recipe. I used a pound of beans. Everything else I did per the recipe. I think the parsnips added an interesting taste to the soup. I did use the immersion blender to make the soup a little thick. I topped with Parmesan cheese and served with a crusty roll.
It was pretty good. It DEFINITELY was quick!! Using canned beans would make the prep time faster, but you could easily soak the beans overnight and then add them when you add the chicken broth to cook with the rest of the ingredients. Dry beans are cheaper than canned. Just saying. Having to be creative with the sparse cupboard and freezer we have isn’t too easy, but this one fit the bill and was perfect after spending a couple of hours digging the car out for CTM to go to work tonight.
Measuring cups and spoons
Knife
Cutting board
Large stock pot
