Green Bean Soup

Green Bean Soup

My mom makes a delicious green bean soup.  She uses linguica which of course is yummy but I am trying to cook as vegetarian as my family will tolerate:)  I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs "Closet Cooking". A testament to how yummy it was...Colin devoured his bowl and Ali had seconds!

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Bacon (or Garlic) Grapeseed Oil
1 onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
6 cups chicken stock (or 6 C Water + 4TBSP Wildtree Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon)
1 # linguica (sliced-optional)
1 (19 ounce) can white beans (drained and rinsed)
2-3 Medium red potatoes, diced
1 TSP Hearty Spaghetti Blend
1 TBSP Garlic Galore
1  bay leaf
1 (19 ounce) can white beans (drained and rinsed)
pepper to taste
1 pound green beans (cleaned, trimmed and cut)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan.
2. Add the onions, carrot and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the stock, linguica, green beans, potatoes, Spaghetti Blend, Garlic Galore, and bay leaf and simmer, covered on low heat for an 45-60 min. until vegetables are tender.
4. Empty can of beans and some of the broth into a blender (or use an immersion blender) to blend some of the beans to give a nice and creamy texture to the soup. Return to pot.
5. Add the remaining can of beans and simmer long enough to heat them.