[SkyDancer]

Starting to make my winter bean soup.

[Jamestown1630]

Can you freeze that? We make a sausage/bean/spinach soup that is really good, and I’ve often wanted to do it in bulk and freeze; but my husband seems to think that freezing beans makes them tough and unpalatable (?)

[ridesthemiles]

I leave a decent amount of meat on a turkey carcass, and I put it in my 8 qt crockpot with “Garlic & Herb Mix by Lipton”. I add some water & Chicken stock.

I brew that for 2-3 days. Then I take the meat off the bones, and strain everything thru a large strainer to make sure I get all the very small bones. Back into the crockpot, add Lawry’s salt, garlic salt, celery salt, or celery pieces, and dry onion pieces. Then I brew it for another day or more.

Add BARLEY & let that brew. Dry barley will double in size or more.

Makes a great WINTER soup that is thicker. Serve with garlic bread. I use an Edward’s frozen Key Lime Pie for desert.

Freezes well.

[Publius]

This is my family's bean soup recipe from almost a century ago. It's what soups used to be like.

BEANS AND HAM HOCKS

2 cups dried beans
2 leeks, white part only
1 stalk celery, minced
1 carrot, minced
1/3 cup celery leaves, minced
6 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 lb smoked ham hocks
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/8 tsp mustard seed
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 tsp salt

In a large saucepan cover the beans, rinsed and picked over, with 6 cups of water and let stand overnight.

Add 4 cups of water, bring to a boil over moderate heat, and simmer the beans, covered, for 1-1/2 hours. Mash the beans with a potato masher if desired.

In a kettle, cook the leeks (well washed), celery, carrot, celery leaves in butter until the vegetables are softened. Add flour, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the beans, including the liquid, ham hocks, 2 cups of water, minced parsley and mustard seed. Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, and simmer, covered, for 3-4 hours. Add water if necessary to keep the beans covered.

Transfer the hocks with a slotted spoon to a bowl, and remove the meat from the bones. Stir in the meat, sherry and salt, and heat moderately, stirring all the while, until it is all mixed in.

[bgill]

I bought six winter squash and will be making my squash soup when the turkey comes out of the freezer. The recipe is posted a couple places on FR.

We’d been eating down the freezer but somehow it got filled up again. Also, got the pantry and a couple of kitchen cabinets organized. Just feel better about things when these are in order. Currently working on the junk room and fashioning a mini indoor greenhouse to plant herbs and such.

Thankfully, didn’t need to buy anything but the turkey this year.