Bean Soup

Mamma used to cook this, it was an all-day affair.  Nowadays, not so much.

My sister-in-law gave me a pressure cooker that she didn't use and I've been playing with it.  It will cook two pounds of beans to tenderness in 30 minutes, it's quite the time-saver.  This soup uses white beans, either Great Northern or Baby Limas.  Today, I used Baby Lima beans.

Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 lbs dried white beans
1 lb tasso (a Cajun smoked ham.)
Salt, Pepper
Onion
Belle Pepper, Celery (Or frozen seasoning blend)
Three medium russet potatoes
Chicken broth

Prep:
Rinse and sort beans, put them i the pressure cooker for 30 minutes.
Saute vegetables.
Chop tasso into tiny bites (about 1/4 inch)
Wash and peel the potatoes, chop them like the tasso.

When the beans are done, release the pressure on the cooker, slowly.  Dump everything into a slow cooker and turn it on high for a couple of hours.  This will cook the potatoes and let the flavors blend.  Serve with saltine crackers.

And, thanks to sister-in-law for the pressure cooker.  Belle has one in the house, but now we have one in the shop as well.  It will get a lot of use, I promise.

When the boys get home from school, we'll break out the saltine crackers.