Congressional Bean Soup

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Here is a crockpot recipe that my family loves (it's one of our favorites), and perfect for cold winter nights. Toss a salad and you have a hearty meal with a few simple, and CHEAP, ingredients.

When I have celery that will go bad before we use it all, I chop the ingredients for this soup and freeze. Then when I need a meal, I just have to throw in my bag of veggies & ham in the crockpot along w/ beans and water and we have dinner cooking in a snap.

Congressional Bean Soup

8 cups water
1 pound dried Navy beans (sorted & picked through)
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley (optional)
1-2 cups chopped left over ham
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

For a quick soak, in a large pot on the stove, bring water to a boil. Add beans and boil gently 2 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand 1 hour. OR, just soak beans overnight and in the morning rinse and fill crock with 8 cups water. Whichever method you use, put 8 total cups water in the crockpot/slow cooker. Add all other ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 6-7 hours until beans are very soft. Add more salt if needed to taste and pepper.

Submitted by Susan Smith
http://www.frugalfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/