Recipe Additions:
12 cups water 2 (plus) cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt freshly ground pepper 1 smoked ham hock (can substitute smoked turkey leg)
1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 pound smoked kielbasa sausage, sliced on a diagonal (can substitute chicken sausage)
2 cups celery, sliced
2 cups onion, chopped
1 or 2 whole chicken breasts, sliced into small pieces while raw or slightly frozen
1 green pepper, chopped
11-Bean Soup Recipe Directions:
•Rinse, drain and pick over beans.
•Place beans in an 8 quart pot with water, salt, ham hock or turkey leg and bouquet garni.
•Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 3 or more hours.
•Add tomatoes, onions, celery, garlic and green pepper to pot.
•Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 and 1/2 hours.
•Add pepper to taste, sausage and chicken and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
•Remove bouquet garni before serving.
Vegetarian Soup Recipe Variation:
To make Minnesota Heartland 11 Bean Soup without meat but still get that rich smokey flavor start the soup with 2 quarts of water instead of 3 and leave out the ham hock. Proceed with recipe adding in the all the vegetables in the second step. For the final hour of cooking, leave out the sausage and add a cup of barbecue sauce. We recommend the Legend Heartland Barbecue Sauce in our Pantry! A good barbecue sauce makes a nice substitute for the pork in traditional "pork and beans" dishes. Adding 1/2 cup of rice is another option for the last 45 minutes, but go with 10 cups broth to start the recipe.
