ADD LESS SALT, AND CHYENNE PEPPER

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer the standard navy bean soup to put my ham bone to use. I thought I'd try something different this time... big mistake. This had way too much going on - as well as many unnecessary ingredients (like green onions). The flavors were much too strong.

This soup is great. I love the hardiness of it. I made a batch up and froze it in order to take it to Moose Camp. Boy was it wonderful after a day of hunting.

Put the beans covered in water,bring to boil, boil 10 minutes, leave covered and sit for an hour.Tenderizes your bean and cuts cooking time in half.

My husband and I loved this recipe. I put this in the slower cooker in the morning and it was ready by dinner time that night. I added beef stock to mine approx 4 cups in addition to a cup of water. I also left out the sausage and used 4 ham hocks. I used tomatoe paste and 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, but I think this was a little much. Next time I think I'm going to use 1/2 that. I also don't like things spicey, so I left out anything with some kick, but you can pick and choose what fits your taste.

I don't understand all the praise. I thought that the recipe was needlessly complicated, and all the extra spices didn't add up to a superior soup.

I love the taste as well as the eye appeal of this fantastic dish. Seeing it reminded me of a time long past but not forgotten. Taste is worth more stars!

This is hands down the best bean soup I've ever had in my life. The flavor and blend of spices is amazing. I didn't use the green onions, just used extra white onions per another user review. I also used dry spices since I didn't have fresh spices on-hand. Phenomenal!! My husband agrees that this is "a keeper"!

I thought this made a great soup! I did modify it quite a bit though. I didn't want to wait five hours for it to cook! I used 3 cans of great northern beans instead of the dried package, and I used one package of frozen lima beans. This cut cooking time down to about an hour. I also used about a pound of italian sausage since that was the smallest package I could find. I tried some Italian style stewed tomatoes which also added some flavor, and I substituted chicken broth for water and cut down to 1 tablespoon chicken base. It turned out to be excellent! This was my first chance to use my new food processor from Christmas, did that ever make this soup a snap!

Excellent soup. Followed directions and made a huge pot of thick, hearty and tasty soup.

Great, nutritious and hearty soup. I use lean turkey Italian sausage and two large cans of fat-free chicken broth instead of the water and bouillion powder. The beans really absorb liquid!

This was one of the best I have ever had. I made a double batch, You need a very very large pan to mix the ingredients. I used a cut up picnic ham cubed with the fat removed, instead of ham hocks. I Pulled two gallons out of the mixture and froze them before I started the main cooking process. The remaining mixture had to be cooked in a electric roaster. It was the only thing that was still large enough to cook it all. After the famaly ate all we wanted, I took it to work and 10 men were able to have a bowl full. All I heard all afternoon was that bean soup was really good, (along with all the reporting from the hind end). A few wanted the recipie for deer camps. By the way, I cooked it for several hours in that roaster at 350 degrees, and there was not one burnt spot on the bottom of the pan. I'll try the roaster thing for chilli, and others that tend to burn on the bottom of the pan.

This is a pretty good recipe--we just used the sausages and omitted the ham. Especially good with a little cheese or sour cream on top.

Very good, I got a little carried away with the flat Italian parsley, but i never measure, just chop and throw it in the pot. Husband really enjoyed this soup, lots of good flavor, will definitely fix again. The recipe doesn't really specify, but some of the less experienced cooks may not know to pre-soak the beans. I used the quick soak method instead of overnite and they turned out great!

This soup was excellent, especially after simmering for 7 hours and letting the flavors meld overnight. I made several changes. I left out the sausage, the tomato paste and the basil, and halved the cayenne pepper. I used cranberry beans instead of dried lima beans and soaked the cranberry and navy beans for more than 24 hours prior to cooking. I put in 12 cups of water and just over 1 cup of tomato juice in at the beginning of the recipe, let the soup simmer partially covered, and did not need to add more liquid to the soup. The chicken soup base was added to taste at the end as I was not sure how much salt the ham hocks would add. A pound of ham cut into bits was added at the end of cooking, as was the meat from the ham hocks. Topped with fresh chives, this soup was hearty and very tasty.

I received a honey-sliced ham for a Christmas gift, using the bone for this recipe. I also diced a cup or more of extra ham to add to the soup. This is a terrifically hearty soup, with a wonderfully complex flavor. I thought so many ingredients might be gratuitous, but the flavor was so good, I'd be afraid to leave anything out when I prepare it again. Yes, with so many ingredients, you will be in the kitchen for awhile. And the beans do take a long time to cook. Still, it's all worth it when your family keeps going back for seconds and thirds. As another reviewer mentioned, I found myself adding water as the soup continued to thicken. To retain the flavor, in adding so much water, I also added another teaspoon of chicken bouillon. Adding water did not hurt the flavor. My grocer did not have fresh chives, so I used dried. That's the only substitution I made. Don't think twice about making this one! Just do it!

This is a very good soup and a great way to use up the extra ham from Easter!