SOUP INGREDIENTS :

2 cups dried lima beans
8 cups cold water
1 pound lean chuck or bottom round
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube
2 tablespoons corn oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

SOUP MAKING DIRECTIONS :

Soak lima beans in cold water overnight. Drain the lima beans and rinse in several changes of water to float away as many loosened shells as possible. Place in crockpot with 8 cups fresh water, the meat, chopped onion, carrot, garlic and bouillon cube. Cover tightly and cook 18-24 hours, until beans are very tender. Remove from heat and let cool a little.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a skillet and saute the finely diced onion until it is very brown. Remove meat from soup to a platter or cutting board and cut into bite-size pieces. Ladle a small amount of soup at a time into blender or bowl of a food processor and puree until all soup is pureed. Return to pot, add the meat, and stir in browned onions. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Freezes well.

Instead of meat, add 1 quartered chicken. Remove the chicken before pureeing the soup. Take the meat from the bone and discard the skin. Pull meat apart with your fingers into bite-size pieces and return to the pureed soup.