Burger & 5 Bean Soup

Growing up, my mom made a 4 bean dish that was called, "4 Bean Dish". While the title wasn't very unique, the ingredients were. I remember my mom grabbing the ketchup bottle and squirting a huge blob into the pot. Then she'd grab the mustard bottle and squirt some more.


I loved this dish! I couldn't wait until I was a grown-up so that I could eat this whenever I wanted!


Then I actually grew up.


While I still love this dish, I have learned that corn syrup in my soup isn't exactly the healthiest choice.


Hmmm...maybe my mom should rename her dish, "Corn Syrup & Bean Soup"?


So, in honor of my mom and all mom's who have used ketchup to disguise undesirable foods, (ahem, lima beans) ...this is for you.


First, fry up some really good, grass-fed, ground beef. I'm doubling this recipe, so I used 2 lbs. This makes great leftovers, so make plenty!








While the meat is cooking, open up the cans of beans. You'll need 2 (15 oz.-ish) of each; kidney beans, garbanzo beans, (AKA chickpeas), lima beans, and pinto beans. You could substitute black beans or butter beans instead. Don't drain though...the "juice" becomes the broth. It is a step up for the lowly juice...let's give the juice their moment.





You'll also need a 28 oz. can of baked beans. These are what I had, so these are what I used.







Okay, funny story. I have a very small kitchen. In a 5600 sq. ft. house, the kitchen is teeny. I had a moment of brilliance, following a weekend of HGTV, and decided to clean off the counters to make the kitchen appear larger. So I threw the electric can opener away.


My children were not amused.


So my daughter, Melissa, decided to pay me back and take a picture of me toiling over the can opening process.


She's a funny girl.


Before the meat is done, dice up a whole, sweet onion and a couple of stalks of celery. Go ahead and add some garlic. While 2 cloves of garlic are good, 3 are even better. Trust me.






Dump all of the beans (and juice!) into the crock pot. Then add the cooked hamburger. In the same fry-pan, add 1 Tb. olive oil and 1 Tb. unsalted butter. Add the chopped up vegetables and cook until the onions look opaque. Add 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1/4-1/2 cup sucanat (rapadura or brown sugar works too), 1/4 cup molasses, 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil, and 1 Tb. chili powder. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the liquid looks gooey.






Add the cooked vegetables to the crock pot. I then poured a quart of home-canned tomatoes into the pot. Stir well and cook on low for 6 hours.




Before serving, salt and pepper as needed.

And don't forget the cornbread!



Burger & 5 Bean Soup


2 lbs. ground beef
2 (15 oz.) cans each: kidney, garbanzo, Lima, pinto beans
1 (28 oz.) can baked beans
1 large, sweet onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart tomatoes
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4-1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1 1/2 dried basil
1 T. chili powder


Cook beef in fry-pan. Dump in crock pot. Add beans to pot. Saute onions, celery and garlic until opaque. Add mustard, sugar, molasses, and spices and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Dump in crock pot. Add tomatoes. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve with cornbread. Because it's the right thing to do.

**I have made this dish using dried beans that were previously soaked and cooked. It adds extra time, but is well worth the effort, especially as you are able to remove the "toots".**