Bear's Bodacious Bean Bonanza

This soup has come through 25 years of evolution from a time when we were very hard up for food to get to this stage. There's a lot of stuff in here and offers a wide variety of flavors, colors and textures but the time taken to make it is well worth it. It will knock the feathers out of your bonnet. This recipe makes enough to feed a small tribe.

• Preparation Time: 60 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 3 hr
• Calories: 410 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¼ cup molasses
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained
• 1 ½ cups diced carrots
• 1 ½ cups diced celery
• 2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 pound thick sliced bacon
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound cubed fully cooked ham
• 1 (15 ounce) can wax beans, drained
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry 16 bean soup mix
• 1 (3.25 ounce) package any flavor beef jerky, diced
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen Fordhook lima beans, thawed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place the dry 16 bean mix into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using.

Step 2

Bring the soaked beans to a boil in a large pot with enough water to cover. Add the diced jerky and simmer for about 2 hours.

Step 3

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the cooled bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.

Step 4

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the thawed lima beans in the butter until the beans are evenly browned, about 10 minutes.

Step 5

Stir the bacon, lima beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans, wax beans, cream-style corn, ham, onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, honey, molasses, and brown sugar into the pot with the cooked beans and jerky. Cook another 30 minutes or until the beans are tender.