Grandma Teague's White Bean Soup // AKA: SOUP

Dear Reader,

You should know a little history about this soup...
All the names this soup has been called over the last few years and WHY:

* SOUP
* THE Soup
* Auntie Irene's Soup
* Grandma Teague's Soup
* Grandma Teague's White Bean Soup

I'm still not sure how I'll ever be able to make this soup for my family and not use two or more of these names as the answer to the "What's for dinner?" question!

And why so many names... ?

Well reader, that's where it gets complex. 

When Auntie Irene shared this recipe with me with it was with the understanding that it was not the original recipe of the soup she grew up with from Grandma Teague - BUT  IT  WAS  PRETTY  DANG  CLOSE  TO  IT! 

So who gets ownership?  Apparently both of the ladies since I have to literally explain the soup origin every time I make it because I have several other "white bean" soups in my soup repertoire.

I've been asked to share this recipe for a handful of years now.  It's well past due and I am indeed happy to share!  You, dear reader, get to decide which name you prefer to call it when made in your own kitchen.  Payton's vote is for:  SOUP.

SOUP

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2  pounds white navy beans 

   - - -  OR  Great Northern beans

1  quart chicken stock/broth

8  cups water

ham bone or ham hock (optional)

2-3 pounds cooked, diced ham (no nitrates preferred)

   - - -  a smoked spiral ham is my favorite!!!  And this SOUP is     the first thing I use the left-overs for.  

olive oil

3 medium onions, diced

1 bundle of garlic, minced

10-12 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

10-12 stalks of celery, diced or sliced

   - - -  basically an entire bundle of celery

3  TABLESPOONS  Italian seasoning

1/4  cup Better-Than-Bullion chicken paste

1  TABLESPOON Kosher salt

1  1/2  teaspoons coarse black pepper 

Sort -  rinse - pressure cook - drain - rinse 2 pounds of the bean you chose.

Set aside.  

(If you don't have a pressure cooker cook your bean of choice the morning of or the night before making this SOUP.)

In a very large pot cook carrots, celery and onions with 2-3 TABLESPOONS of olive oil for 5-10 minutes.

Stir often.

Add diced ham and garlic, cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Stir often and cook until fragrant and slightly caramelized.

ADD:  chicken broth, water, chicken paste, prepared beans, ham bone, Italian seasoning, Kosher salt and coarse black pepper.

Bring all to a simmer.

Simmer for 1-2 hours.  

Stirring often (...and getting your stir spoon all the way to the bottom so you don't have any beans scorching!!!).

Additional water may be needed as SOUP cooks.

Additional Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve with cornbread.

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Click Link FOR:     Gluten-Free Cornbread

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Chicken Tortilla Soup - Slow Cooker

- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Slow Cooker
- and a Lupe Tortilla TWIN... 

:0)

If you're from Texas and know the significance of that "TWIN" statement: YOU'RE WELCOME!

I can tell you which of my friends only order the soup for dinner or the soup and salad lunch combo because of how wonderful their Chicken Tortilla Soup is at the local restaurant "Lupe Tortilla" - YES.  It's that good.  Here's my version, which I feel is a literal twin to their's.

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

 - Slow Cooker -

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded into large pieces

2 small/medium onions, chopped
1 bundle of garlic (6-8 cloves) minced
olive oil

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water
2 cans, 7 oz., chopped green chilies
1 can unsalted corn, drained and rinsed
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tablespoons cumin
3-4 teaspoons chili powder (spicier with 4 teaspoons…) 
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 bay leaf

(OPTIONAL:)  And optional because I always order my soup WITHOUT the jalapeno slices... so if you want the Lupe Tortilla "twin" effect I suppose it is NOT optional:

1 jalapeno, carefully de-seeded and sliced into circles  

shredded Pepper Jack cheese

corn tortilla chips
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped



Start your slow cooker and add chicken broth, green chilies, rinsed and drained canned corn and black beans. (And jalapeno if you're going with the optional option...)

Add all the spices and shredded chicken to the slow cooker.

In a medium pan, saute chopped onions in olive oil until golden/dark brown and caramelized.

Add garlic to the caramelized chopped onions and cook until fragrant.

Add chopped onions and garlic to crockpot.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours; or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Right before serving, wash and chop cilantro leaves; add to the soup.

SERVE  ON  THE  SIDE: 

sliced avocados

grated Pepper Jack Cheese

corn tortilla chips

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STOVETOP OPTION:

Prepare and heat to a simmer in a large pot.

Simmer for 20-40 minutes.

Turn off heat and serve as directed above.

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Chicken Noodle SOUP - with Homemade Gluten-FREE EGG NOODLES!!!

Homemade noodles...
Quick, FUN and EASY!
(Thank you Tasha for the
original recipe!)  

It took me a few years of living in Texas to realize that keeping ALL of the 9 months of winter clothing that I had moved here with from Idaho was not going to be a long-term good idea...

The same can be said of my previous habit of happily making soups and chilis 9 months of the year without anyone complaining. (NOTE TO THE DAVIS HOUSEHOLD: please remember that all complaining about food will only be tolerated if done IN SONG!  ie:  in a movie / broadway musical fashion)  

The clothing collection has been rounded out with 9 months of skirts (NOT SHORTS!) and a lovely collection of sun hats.  I pray for cold weather so that I can wear my boots without getting sweaty!

...And the happy habit of making soups and chili 9 months out of the year?

I just crank the AC and make sure everyone is singing about it if there's a complaint they want heard.   :0) 

CHICKEN  NOODLE  SOUP

 

Begin with a big soup pot.  

Heat oil and add onion; cook until translucent. 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, minced

Add each item in the following order, stirring frequently until carrots are softened and garlic starts to caramelize at the end of sautéing when all veggies are combined together.

10-12  big carrots, peeled and sliced into circles

6-8  stalks of celery, sliced

8 garlic cloves (one bundle), minced

Then ADD to cooked veggies:

10  cups cold water 

2  large bay leaves

2  teaspoons Kosher salt

1  teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons Better-Than-Bullion with 2 chicken bouillon cubes

OR 1/4 cup Better-Than-Bullion

OR 4 chicken bullion cubes

1/3  cup dry parsley flakes

1  teaspoon Tom Chancery’s Original Creole Seasoning

left-over chicken pieced into small pieces 

A note on the chicken:

Use a small amount or large… whatever you have  

OR  use left-over turkey

OR  what I usually do - buy a grocery store or Costco rotisserie chicken and pick it apart

OR  2-3 pounds chicken breast cooked in crockpot on high for 3-4 hours before adding to your soup

Bring everything to a boil, turn down to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 

A note on the simmering:

Adding more water while cooking will be necessary to maintain a “soup” consistency. Plan on it - Adding only 1 cup at a time.

GLUTEN-FREE  VERSION OF:

Tasha’s Homemade Egg Noodles

For the Gluten-FREE noodles:

Combine well in a medium bowl:

4  eggs

3  Tablespoons water

When combined well, ADD and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon:

2  1/3 cups gluten-free flour mixture

Knead egg noodle dough on a floured surface 10-20 times.  

Pound out into a large circle.  

Push out to a  1/4 - 1/8 thickness with a rolling pin.  .

With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles - any shape, width and length you’d like.  

BACK  TO  THE  SOUP!!!:

Drop one noodle at a time into your simmering soup pot.  

Stir.  

Cook COVERED for 45-60 minutes at a simmer.  

Add water as needed.  

Taste.  

Add pepper and Kosher salt, if needed.

Serve with plenty of your egg noodles in each bowl!

HOMEMADE  CHICKEN  BROTH:

(When I am feeling fancy and
get an early start on this soup.)
 
Glean all the chicken meat off your
Costco rotisserie chicken. 
Place the chicken carcass in another
cooking pot filled with filtered water.  
(Literally everything but the string
used to hold the legs in place.)

Bring to a boil and then turn
down to a simmer for 2-3 hours.

You should lose 2-3 inches of the
water level through this process.

Once your carrots, celery, onion,
and garlic are cooked and fragrant,

pour your homemade chicken broth 

into your large soup pot 

using a strainer to catch any bones or skin.

Let the carcass remnants cool and then discard.

The secret to this recipe???
A spicy creole seasoning.
Goes from simple to AMAZING!

Knead egg noodle dough on 

a floured surface 10-20 times.  

Pound out into a large circle.  

 

Push out to a  1/4 - 1/8 thickness 

with a rolling pin.

With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles 

- any shape, width and length you’d like.

Clean up is done in a flash if you
put plastic wrap
down before you start your
kneading of the dough.

Half way through your cooking process - 
remove the soup pot lid and
gently stir the noodles
to get the ones on the top
circulated to the bottom.
  
Cover again and finish the total
cook time on your egg noodles.

Fully cooked noodles!

These noodles are from the
lovely Tasha Schroeder
- one of my favorite foodies/inspiration. 
Miss and love you friend!

Jane Austen

It does not look like it... 
But this is how she helps me in the kitchen.
I get stared at from the back of the couch.

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(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

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Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS  

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For  the  Original  Homemade  Egg  Noodles:

Tasha’s Homemade Egg Noodles

Combine well in a medium bowl:

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon sea salt

When combined well, ADD and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon:

2 cups flour

Knead egg noodle dough on a floured surface 10-20 times.  

Pound out into a large circle.  

Push out to a 1/4 - 1/8 thickness with a rolling pin.  .

With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles - any shape, width and length you’d like.  

Drop one at a time into your simmering soup.  Stir.  

Cook for 45-60 minutes at a simmer and COVER.  

Add water as needed.  Taste.  Add pepper and Kosher salt, if needed.

CREAMY White Bean, Potato and Bacon Soup (Surprise! ...NON-DAIRY)

Surprise!
This creamy soup is "NON-dairy".
"SANS-dairy".
Or you could say "dairy-FREE".

Really doesn't matter how you pose the phrase.  Still creamy.  Still NON-dairy.

"How???"  you're asking...

My answer is it's the potatoes (make sure you have at least 2 different kinds if not all three!), all the beans, and then a slow/low simmer.

BONUS:  it's even creamy (if not more so!) after coming out of a deep freeze in the freezer.

Enjoy!





1 pound bacon - cut into 1 inch pieces

1 VERY large or 2 medium onions - diced

12-15 potatoes - peeled and cubed into small pieces
POTATO  NOTE:  USE  2 or all 3 of the following:  Red, Yellow Yukon, and/OR Russett

1 garlic bundle (8-10 cloves) - minced
1-2 cups ham - diced  (OPTIONAL)

6 cups water
1/4 cup CHICKEN "Better Than Bullion"
3 teaspoons - SMOKED paprika
3 teaspoons Kosher salt

4 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern Beans - drained and rinsed
OR
2 pounds DRY Great Northern Beans - pressure cooked - drained and rinsed

In an LARGE cooking pot brown the cut bacon until very crisp.

Remove and set aside.

DO NOT DRAIN BACON GREASE.

COOK diced onion in bacon grease on MED-HIGH until slightly brown and caramelized.

ADD cubed potatoes and stir mixture consistently - and be diligent!
NOTE: The potatoes tend to stick to the bottom of the pan!
Cook for 15-20 minutes.

When potatoes are tender, add minced garlic and turn heat down to a  HIGH SIMMER; cook for 5 minutes stirring mixture consistently.

OPTIONAL  ADDITION:  diced ham

ADD:  water, chicken "Better Than Bullion", smoked paprika, Kosher salt and Great Northern beans (remember to drain and rinse either way you did your beans!).

COOK at a low SIMMER for 30-45 minutes until beans and potatoes are tender.

ADD additional smoked paprika and Kosher salt to taste.

ADD your very crispy bacon!

Serve hot with toasted Natural Yeast Bread slices.


If by chance you have any leftovers, this soup freezes up beautifully!  :0)  Having leftovers doesn't happen very often any more!  Recipes that used to feed our family twice feed us once!  Someday I hope to have my freezer full of leftover soups and chilis to pull out after a crazy-busy day... I used to!  For now I am grateful for a house full of happy (and hungry!) kids.

This recipe is a pantry cleaner for sure!
It seems like I am always making this towards the end
of the month when I am using up what I have left in the pantry...
Hence the ambiguous numbers for the potatoes.
No need to go to the store and buy 4-5 of each kind.
WHAT  DO  YOU  HAVE  IN  THE  PANTRY?

BREAD  LINK:      Baking with Natural Yeast - BASIC LOAF

Clink Link FOR:   Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

A special acknowledgment for Preston:  

THANK YOU for your amazing patience!  

I think I promised to share this recipe with your mother nearly 2 (maybe 3???) years ago...  

So glad to find out that this is still a favorite of your's!!!