Soak a large batch of beans when you have the time, drain, and keep frozen until needed.

Prep: 40 minutes Cook: 1 hour

1 1/2 cups dried beans (such as giant lima beans, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, and/or cannellini beans) 6 cups water
2 cooked smoked pork hocks or 1-1 1/2 lb. meaty ham bones
1 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups sliced celery (3 stalks)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (3-4 carrots)
1 1/2 cups sliced leeks (4-5 leeks)
1 14-oz. can reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 1/4 cups water
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 2 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups torn winter kale or fresh spinach
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Rinse beans. Soak beans in 6 cups water, covered, in a cool place for 8 to 24 hours. (Or, in a large pot combine beans and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand for 1 hour.) Drain and rinse; set aside.

2. In a 4-quart Dutch oven brown pork hocks or ham bones in hot butter, turning to brown all sides. Remove from pan. Add celery, carrots, and leeks to pan and cook until tender. Return hocks or ham bones to pan. Add beans, broth, 3 1/4 cups water, rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

3. Remove hocks or ham bones and cool slightly. Meanwhile, if desired, mash beans slightly. When hocks or ham bones are cool enough to handle, cut meat off bones and chop; discard bones and bay leaf. Stir meat into soup. Add kale; heat and stir just until wilted. Season to taste with salt and additional pepper. Makes 6 servings.

SLOW-COOKER DIRECTIONS: Rinse and soak beans as directed in master recipe; drain and rinse beans. Transfer to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add pork hocks or ham bones (omit browning hocks in butter), celery, carrots, leeks, broth, 2 1/4 cups water (instead of 3 1/4 cups), rosemary, pepper, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 11 to 13 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours. Remove hocks or ham bones and cool slightly. Continue as directed in master recipe.

PRESSURE-COOKER DIRECTIONS: Rinse and soak beans as directed in master recipe; drain and rinse beans. In a 6-quart pressure cooker, brown ham hocks in hot butter. Add beans, celery, carrots, leeks, rosemary, pepper, and bay leaf to cooker. Add broth and the 3 1/4 cups water, adding additional water to cover, if necessary. Stir to mix; lock lid in place. Bring to pressure over high heat; immediately reduce heat to stabilize and maintain pressure. Cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to depressurize cooker. Remove hocks or ham bones and cool slightly. Continue as directed in master recipe.

EXTRA-QUICK SOUP: Substitute three 15-oz. cans Great Northern and/or black beans, rinsed and drained, for the dried beans and 1 1/2 cups cubed ham for the pork hocks or ham bone. Omit soaking beans. In the Dutch oven cook the celery, carrots, and leeks in hot butter for 10 minutes or until tender; add remaining ingredients except kale. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20 minutes to blend flavors. Stir in kale until wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Per serving: 243 cal., 3 g fat (2 g sat. fat), 16 mg chol., 728 mg sodium, 39 g carbo., 11 g dietary fiber, 17 g protein.

NOTE: Start with a calico mix of whatever dry beans you like and embellish them with smoky ham hocks, a few winter vegetables, and fresh rosemary. Simmer for an hour on the stovetop, all day in the slow cooker, or just 12 minutes in the pressure cooker.