15 Bean Soup Recipe

Recipe makes 10 servings

Ingredients
1 (1 lb) bag of regular 15 bean soup mix or Cajun 15 bean soup mix

1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-30 ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed
3 stalks celery leaves, included chopped
2-3 ham hocks, with meat still on it or 1 ham bone, with meat still on it
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crush with fingertips before adding this releases the flavor)
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions
1 Wash the beans; put in large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil; stir and remove from heat. Cover and let sit 1 hour. After that hour, drain beans and set aside.
2 Add oil to pot. Sauté your ham hocks, onion, and celery until tender.
3 Next add garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.
4 Add your beans and cover with water (about 2 inches over top of beans).
5 Add tomatoes with the juice, parsley, rosemary, black pepper, bouillon cubes, and about 1 teaspoon of salt to start with.
6 Mix well. Bring to boil; stir, reduce heat cover and simmer for 2 to 21/2 hours or until all the sizes of the beans are tender.
7 Keep watching it and stirring it every once in a while. You may need to add more water; you want it to keep a consistency a little thicker than a soup.
8 Taste it after it cooks--you may need more salt or pepper.
9 During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the flavor package that comes with the beans.
10 Serve by itself or over rice.

Okay here are my notes about this recipe. I don't use ham hocks or ham, I use turkey Italian Sausage, leave out the bouillon (adds too much sodium)
You can leave out the can tomatoes, I've had it with and without them and both ways taste good. You don't need the oil if you don't brown the meat or the celery, (which can be omitted.) I also don't use the seasoning package too much sodium.

Recipe taken from Recipezaar.com