My parents fed seven on a single salary, and much of that economy was due to my mother’s cleverness. Soups, stews, casseroles, and hot dishes are filling and delicious, and they make the most of their ingredients. Something essential during inflation and the Trump tariff taxes.

I was cleaning out our freezer to make room for new purchases when I came across a large block of ham I vacuum-sealed in April 2022. I thawed the ham and tasted it, and it was absolutely fine. That is the power of a vacuum sealer. However, now I had to do something with the thawed ham. The possibilities are many, but I thought I would go with a soup option on this blustery fall day.

I had a bag of dry 15-bean soup beans in the pantry, and that sounded like the perfect foil for the ham. This recipe makes an enormous amount of soup. Four of us ate it, and we put at least four portions in the fridge for future lunches. I also vacuum-sealed and froze another four portions for a future meal. All in all, a very economical dinner.

Let’s take a look at the recipe from http://valerieskitchen.com. I did make a few changes, which I’ll discuss in the following photos.

Several brands sell a 15-bean mix, or you may find a bag of 16-bean or 14-bean soup mix. They are all interchangeable. This bag was from Aldi, and the beans were of excellent quality. Always sort out flawed and broken beans and discard any little rocks. I have never found a rock, but it is always a good idea to look.

I soaked the beans overnight in double the water. Soaking is unnecessary if you use a pressure cooker. If you used unsoaked beans, you will need to increase your pressure-cooking time to about 40-50 minutes. If you plan on making this soup in a slow cooker or on the stove, you will need to soak the beans first. I believe soaking improves digestibility and reduces unpleasant bean “side effects.” It also reduces the pressure-cooking time to 30 minutes.

Here are the ingredients that I used. In addition to the recipe, I added 1/2 of a sweet pepper. I used an enormous amount of ham as I had defrosted a large block. However, about half of that could be used. You could use any other smoked meat, from bacon to smoked sausage. In fact, you could use cut-up hot dogs if you wished. The chicken broth was made from “Better Than Bouillon.”

Here is a close-up of the spices that I used. I added minimal salt, around 1/2 teaspoon. I was going to adjust the salt at the end of cooking, but the soup was salty enough just from the ham and bouillon. If you don’t have all of these spices, that’s OK. Use what you have. Oregano is an inexpensive and handy spice that adds interest to many dishes. I could have used just that, along with the salt and pepper. With that said, all of these spices are affordable if you buy the Walmart, Aldi, or Dollar Store brands. I didn’t use the seasoning packet that came with the beans, as that is mostly salt.

Using the saute function on my pressure cooker, I lightly browned the ham in a little oil.

I added the chopped onion and garlic and continued to cook the mixture for a few more minutes

In went the spices, which I cooked for about 1 minute more.

Then 8 oz of tomato sauce. Different recipes use different tomato options. Some use a can of crushed tomatoes, some use fresh tomatoes, and some use tomato paste. It makes no difference.

I added the rest of the vegetables.

Then the pre-soaked beans.

Finally, the chicken broth. I used about 6 cups of broth instead of the 4 cups of broth and 3 cups of water stated in the recipe. Less liquid was needed because the beans were already somewhat hydrated from pre-soaking.

I pressure-cooked the beans for 30 minutes, then waited 15 minutes to release the pressure. If I had not pre-soaked the beans, I would have pressure-cooked them for 40 minutes (or possibly 50 minutes). I used a wooden spoon to mash some of the beans to thicken the soup, but that is optional.

Here it is plated up. I served it with oyster crackers, a little cheese, and sour cream. I paired it with some of my homemade whole wheat bread. I like to break off chunks of the bread to dip in the soup; that’s just me. The great thing about soup is that it always tastes better the next day.

This batch was huge and will feed us for several meals. By vacuum-sealing and freezing a portion of the leftovers, I’ll be able to thaw the soup later for an easy, delicious meal.

I hope you know that no recipe is set in stone. You have many options to customize recipes based on your preferences or what you have on hand. Just try to pair like with like. If you don’t have 15-bean soup mix, try another dry bean that you do have. If you don’t have ham, try another flavorful meat. One idea is to save a ham bone and ham scraps from one meal and turn them into an almost-free future meal. Ham bones and scraps freeze well. If you vacuum seal them, they can last for years in the freezer.

Happy eating!

Mike