Cooking & Conversation: Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

Apple Bacon Tomato Soup

This soup is bursting with added flavor of bacon and sauteed apple. This is good served with French bread or a crusty baguette. This will soon be a go-to recipe on a cold winter's day. The prep time is minimal, and there is a lot of flavor packed into these few ingredients.

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 cups beef stock
1-15.5 oz. can pinto beans
1-14.5 oz. can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine

Printable version of recipe: Apple Bacon Tomato Soup PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6nRIiDbLtgGN1ZyMkNwMnZwSnM/edit

Apples and bacon have been paired together for many centuries in many dishes. The Dutch have been making apple and bacon pancakes as a firm family favorite in Holland. This dish combines the sweet-sour apple and the savory bacon for a match made in heaven. And of course, apples are a nutritious.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

You can be the judge of that after reading these facts from www.nutrition-and-you.com

Health benefits of apple

Delicious and crunchy apple fruit is notable for its impressive list of phtyto-nutrients, and anti-oxidants. Studies suggest that its components are essential for normal growth, development and overall well-being.
Apples are low in calories; 100 g of fresh fruit slices provide only 50 calories. They, however, contain no saturated fats or cholesterol. Nonetheless, the fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which helps prevent absorption of dietary-LDL or bad cholesterol in the gut. The fiber also saves the colon mucous membrane from exposure to toxic substances by binding to cancer-causing chemicals inside the colon.
Apples are rich in antioxidant phyto-nutrients flavonoids and polyphenolics. The total measured anti-oxidant strength of 100 g apple fruit is 5900 TE. Some of the important flavonoids in apples are quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2. Additionally, they are also good in tartaric acid that gives tart flavor to them. Altogether, these compounds help the body protect from deleterious effects of free radicals.
Apple fruit contains good quantities of vitamin-C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
Further, apple fruit is a good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, thiamin, and pyridoxine (vitamin B-6). Together these vitamins help as co-factors for enzymes in metabolism as well as various synthetic functions inside the body.
Apple also contains a small amount of minerals like potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus, counters the bad influence of sodium.

Gather the ingredients.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet or pan. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown.

Drain and set aside.

Saute chopped white onion 3 to 5 minutes.

Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic.

Cook with onion.

Pour 2 cans beef stock into soup pot.

Add a can of Italian-style stewed tomatoes.

Add bay leaf, which will be removed once soup is finished cooking.

Add 1 can drained pinto beans.

Chop celery stalks and add to soup pot.

Bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer.

Saute 1 medium apple, thinly sliced, in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup red wine.

Crumble the bacon into the soup mixture.

Continue cooking and add salt and pepper to taste.

Continue cooking the apple over medium heat,
and stir the apple in the red wine until it is soft.
(My pot holder is a Christmas gift from my grandsons,
Aiden, three years old, and Camden, 1 year old.