BEAR'S BODACIOUS BEAN BONANZA

Bear's Bodacious Bean Bonanza image

This soup has come through 25 years of evolution from a time when we were very hard up for food to get to this stage. There's a lot of stuff in here and offers a wide variety of flavors, colors and textures but the time taken to make it is well worth it. It will knock the feathers out of your bonnet. This recipe makes enough to feed a small tribe.

Provided by runningbear

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Pork Soup Recipes Ham Soup

Time 4h30m

Yield 18

Number Of Ingredients 20

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Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package dry 16 bean soup mix
1 (3.25 ounce) package any flavor beef jerky, diced
1 pound thick sliced bacon
1 tablespoon butter
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen Fordhook lima beans, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can wax beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 pound cubed fully cooked ham
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 ½ cups diced carrots
1 ½ cups diced celery
½ cup honey
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar

Steps:

Place the dry 16 bean mix into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using.
Bring the soaked beans to a boil in a large pot with enough water to cover. Add the diced jerky and simmer for about 2 hours.
Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the cooled bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the thawed lima beans in the butter until the beans are evenly browned, about 10 minutes.
Stir the bacon, lima beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans, wax beans, cream-style corn, ham, onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, honey, molasses, and brown sugar into the pot with the cooked beans and jerky. Cook another 30 minutes or until the beans are tender.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 409.5 calories, Carbohydrate 56.6 g, Cholesterol 27.4 mg, Fat 11.2 g, Fiber 13.4 g, Protein 21.6 g, SaturatedFat 3.9 g, Sodium 1041.7 mg, Sugar 17.4 g