Bean & Bacon Soup

• 1 lb navy beans
• 12 lb bacon, cooked, drained, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• salt
• pepper

1. Soak beans overnight.
2. The next day -
3. Cook bacon until crisp.
4. Dry with paper towels.
5. Slice into small pieces.
6. Set aside.
7. Put 1/2 cup of beans aside.
8. Put the rest of the beans in a pot of fresh water with the onion, carrot, and celery.
9. Put the half cup of beans in the blender for 30-60 seconds.
10. Put in pot with the rest of the mixture.
11. Bring to a boil.
12. Add bacon.
13. Cook on medium heat for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until beans are soft.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste.
15. Serve.
16. **If you want to make the soup a little thicker, you can use a manual potato masher to mash the beans before beginning to cook them (just as you put them into the pot of fresh water for cooking).

navy beans, bacon, onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/bean-bacon-soup-128215 (may not work)