The World in a Bowl Night 2: Crockpot Senate Bean Soup

Tonight was American night and what's more American than the US Senate?  Most people just call this ham and bean soup, but is sounds so much more prestigious when it is called Senate Bean Soup.  The story goes that it has been served daily in the Senate dining room since the 1840's. You can eat in the dining room and try it for yourself, you just have to make reservations in advance.  The original recipe called for it to be served over mashed potatoes, but I made skillet cornbread using a recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  I cooked my soup in the crockpot  as we had a soccer game tonight and I don't feel comfortable leaving a pot on the stove with an open flame!  This is a super easy dinner that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is uber low on the messy scale! Tomorrow night we have soccer practice and then I have a teleconference with my Japanese colleagues who are 13 hours ahead of us so dinner will be pizza delivery, but Thursday will be Italian Wedding soup so stay tuned!!

Senate Bean Soup:

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 lb dried navy beans

6 cups water

2 stalks celery, minced

2 carrots, minced

1 med onion minced

2 bay leaves

1/2 tbsp kosher salt 

1/2 tbsp pepper

1 lb ham, diced

  

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  One (1) hour prior to serving,    gently mash the beans and remove the bay leaves.  Enjoy!