My (Rose’s) husband Ron’s favorite soup is the green bean/potato soup his mother made when he was a kid. I’ve tried a few times to replicate it, but it just “wasn’t like mom’s”. I let it go for several years, but this year decided to “do my own thing”! This is what I came up with. It may not be exactly like his mom’s, but he said it is equally good.
I have more squash than potatoes, so I thickened up the soup with squash instead of mashed potatoes. Use either, or pumpkin works, too.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups cut up fresh green beans
1 medium onion chopped
10 new potatoes, quartered
4 cu. cooked and blended squash or potatoes
32 oz. broth (chicken, or vegetable)
6-8 thick sliced bacon, cooked and cut up ( or sliced spicy sausage, or chicken, etc.)
1 pt half and half
salt & pepper to taste
I add some Old Bay seasoning, and cayenne pepper for a little more punch
After you cook your bacon in your Dutch oven, remove it, and most of the grease, leaving some in the bottom of the pan. Add onions and sauté them until translucent. While you are cooking your bacon and the onions, steam your green beans and your potatoes. Add squash and broth to cooked onions, and stir well. Add meat, potatoes, and green beans back into the pot. When heated well, add half and half. Stir well. Garnish with chopped fresh chives. Serve.
Notes from Rose:
RE: Squash – My fav is buttercup
squash because it is rich in flavor and color. I haven’t found any I like as much, however, you can try something different if you want. This is the type Allen’s family grows too, I believe. If you get it from the garden, I’ve found you have to let it cure for a few weeks (like 3-4) before it is good.
I put the potatoes in the steamer with the cut-up green beans on top. It says to start this while doing the rest, and the timing was perfect the last time I made it. By the time I was ready to put the veggies in they were cooked. I found some little potatoes that didn’t have to be cut and some I cut in half that I used. They came in a bag of 2 different colors, which was fun. I added more potatoes and beans than in the recipe this time, and I liked it better. I also put in thinly sliced jalapeño elk sausage that was better than the bacon, even though either will work. I also used 48 oz of chicken broth instead of the 32 in the recipe, and then added 1-1.5 c of powdered milk instead of 16 oz of half and half so the liquid turned out the same. We both liked the chicken broth a lot better, and the half and half was more rich and creamy, but we didn’t mind it with the powdered milk at all. I am curious to try vegetable broth sometime, however, my general opinion is that it doesn’t have as much flavor as a meat broth. I was thinking that chicken would be good in it, too, especially with chicken broth.
I used the squash because I had a lot on hand. You could use mashed potatoes, pumpkin, or sweet potatoes, too, I think. This all started with dad missing his mom’s new potato and green bean soup. I adapted and added and made up to come up with this one, He said he likes it better than his mom’s because it is richer and creamier.
This is “The Plan – Adapted” recipe: 7g protein
(see more about “The Plan” from Lyn-Genet)
Include 30min of exercise.
4 cups cut-up fresh green beans zucchini
1 medium onion chopped
10 new potatoes, quartered (I think you said red potatoes were least reactive)
4 cu. cooked and mashed squash (buttercup – I passed butternut)
32 oz. broth of your choice (chicken)
6-8 thick-sliced bacon, cooked and cut up – I haven’t test Bacon yet so was going to sub this for CHICKEN
1 pt half and half Coconut Milk (or cream?)
salt & pepper to taste
I add some Old Bay seasoning, and cayenne pepper for a little more punch
