Bean Soup With Bacon

• 7 slices hickory smoked-thick sliced bacon
• 12 cup diced celery
• 12 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 14 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 15 12 ounces great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 12 ounces pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth

1. Cut away any excess fat from strips of bacon.
2. Dice bacon, and add to a skillet; brown the bacon evenly.
3. Remove bacon from skillet, add to a 3-quart saucepan; but reserving the bacon grease.
4. Add the diced vegetables to the skillet; (along with the bacon grease) season with salt and pepper.
5. Saute vegetables in the skillet, for 4 minutes.
6. Add minced garlic to the skillet, and cook for 1 minute more.
7. Add the cooked vegetables to the saucepan, then add the beans, broth, and the thyme.
8. Cover saucepan, and bring soup to a simmer; simmer the soup for about 11 minutes, until the carrots seem cooked, but not overly cooked.
9. This makes 1-1/2 quarts of soup.
10. Note: for this recipe, I used Farmland's Hickory Smoked Thick Sliced Bacon.
11. Also, when making this soup, the size of canned beans used in soup may vary.
12. The first time I made this soup, I had added 1-(15.8 oz.)
13. can of great northern beans, and the second time, I used 1-(15.5 oz.)
14. can.

bacon, celery, red onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, salt, beans, pinto beans, chicken broth

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/bean-soup-with-bacon-310849 (may not work)