We are just starting our rainy season here in Florida, and for the past week it has just been raining cats and dogs and squirrels. It was also grey and overcast for days-with no rain. Us Floridian’s we just can’t hang with that! Hello, Hurricane season! LOL
It’s a great time to pull out the slow cooker and have some of Mom’s Slow Cooker Rainy Day Navy Bean Soup. In Florida we have really mild winters, however, our summers are pretty brutal. We end up spending a lot of time in the AC, much like our Northern counterparts do in the winter except next to the heater. This is why this makes so much sense in the summer, light but filling soup that isn’t to heavy and isn’t to hard to make! It’s great for any season.
Personally, I love the fact that not only does Mr. Monday is Meatloaf love this, but the chirping birdies do as well. The soup is a basic dump and push start recipe that the whole family loves to eat.
Start off with roughly chopping one really big onion or two small ones, and add to your slow cooker. I like to use Vidalia onions, they have a sweet and delicious flavor.
I recently discovered pork jowl bacon thanks to the Backwoods Gourmet Channel. Thanks for letting out the secret on this fabulous cut of meat at the butcher that I hadn’t used before! I have to say with this addition I made my best Mom’s Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup…EVER!!!
So slice 4-5 slices of pork jowl bacon (if you can’t find this at your local butcher, then add some thick-cut bacon), and add to the slow cooker with the onion.
Add to this 1-2 cubed ham steaks, depending on how meaty you would like your soup!
I don’t know about you, but I always over buy my navy beans for Mom’s Slow Cooker Rainy Day Navy Bean Soup! I convince myself I have none, and then end up with like five extra cans! This is okay, because I can always make another batch later! Yes!!!!
Add your navy beans to the slow cooker. Also, add the black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, bay leaf, and chicken broth.
Stir everything together….
Then cook on the low setting for 8 hours…I imagine you can do this on the high setting for 3-4 but I’ve never done this. The reason why is you can put it in the slow cooker and it’s ready when you get home. It’s the answer to this working Mom’s prayer!
You can serve this up with some crusty buttered bread you picked up from the local grocery store! Add some fresh chopped onion or pesto or both or nothing.
Filling and delicious…there usually aren’t any leftovers of Mom’s Slow Cooker Rainy Day Navy Bean Soup at my house….BUT….if you have them, enjoy them for lunch!
Mom's Slow Cooker Rainy Day Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 slices pork jowl bacon or thick-cut bacon
- 1-2 ham steaks cubed
- 4 cans navy beans, with liquid
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 4 cups unsalted chicken broth 32 ounces
Instructions
- Roughly chop onion, and slice bacon into small strips. Add to slow cooker.
- Cube ham steaks, and add to slow cooker.
- Add navy beans to slow cooker with liquid.
- Add black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, bay leaf, and unsalted chicken broth to slow cooker. Combine and stir.
- Cook on low setting for eight hours. Serve with fresh chopped onions, or pesto if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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I’m the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and one of the many taste tester’s at Monday is Meatloaf. I live in a sleepy Florida town on the out-skirts of the Tampa Bay metro area. Growing up I got the opportunity to see a lot of great family cooks in action, but I didn’t delve into the culinary world until later. My blog focuses on simple cooking techniques that maximize flavor across a variety of cooking disciplines that are totally do-able for the home cook.
