Kicked-up Umpteen Bean Soup

Take one bag of Hurst HamBeens 15 Original Bean Soup Mix and soak in warm water as instructed on the back of the package.  You can soak the beans for as little as 8 hours before you cook them, but soaking them for 48 hours (a little cooking voodoo) seems to make them taste better.  

After the beans have been thoroughly drowned, cut the Kielbasa into 1/4 inch slices.  I prefer the Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa and Ortega diced green chilies.  Dice or crush the Thai Dragon chilies and combine with the kielbasa and the following ingredients into a large pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 90 minutes.

1 package	HamBeens 15 Bean Soup
1.0 lbs.	Kielbasa
1 tsp.	Black Pepper.
1 Tbsp	Crushed Garlic.
2	Thai Dragon Chilies
4 oz	Diced Green Chilies
2 quarts	Water

 

The Thai Dragons are small chilies about a half inch in length and rate about 75,000 Scoville units.  Jalapenos rate about 5000 units.

Test the beans and see if they are soft enough to mash with a fork, yet still are a little firm. Cube the onion and tomatoes into half inch cubes and add to the pot.  Bring the contents to a simmer once again for about twenty minutes. 

Add salt to taste, simmer for 20 minutes.  I prefer just the salt from the kielbasa, but my Dad prefers a bit more.  You can serve it at this point, but, like a good spaghetti sauce, it's better to wait a day, so refrigerate for twenty-four hours and then heat and serve.

Makes about six servings.