Good Luck Bean Soup

Few things say comfort food for me like this recipe. Growing up, my mom would make this soup on New Year's Day as the bag of mixed beans she bought has a few black eyed peas in it. She told us that if we ate black eyed peas on New Year's Day that we'd have good luck for the new year. As we'd eat, my siblings and I would carefully inspect eat bite looking for the black eyed peas. I was deliciously duped, but I'm okay with that.

Soups

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 3 hours 30 min
Total: 5 hours
Serves 12

Night Before
1 bag of mixed (14-16 types) beans
Soak the beans overnight in water.
Soup
Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Place beans in a large stock pot.
46 ounce can V-8 juice
7 cups of cold water
2 small onions, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon pepper
Add V-8 juice, water, onions, parsley, salt, thyme, chili powder, and pepper to stock pot with beans.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer, uncovered, for 2 ½ hours.
30 ounces canned Italian stewed tomatoes
7 stalks celery, finely chopped
5 medium new or red potatoes, diced
1 pound carrots, chopped
Add tomatoes, celery, potatoes, and carrots to stock pot.
Raise to medium heat and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 1 additional hour.
Remove from heat and serve with muffins, rolls, or biscuits.