Shab Couture - 3 Bean Soup

The idea for this essentially is to take any three types of dried beans where you only have a few beans left.  I had in my cabinet some black-eyed, pinto and navy.  If you don't want to start with dried beans, just take 3 different types of canned beans.

If using dry beans, rinse and put in saucepan, cover with water and let stand for about 30 minutes.  Add salt. I then cook on high until boiling, put heat to low, cover and cook until the beans are tender.  Once the beans are tender, remove the cover, put heat to medium and add 1/4 oil (or pieces of ham, bacon or pork sausage).  Continue to cook on medium heat, checking water level and stirring as needed.  This step should take about 20 - 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.

If using canned beans, add all beans w/juice to a saucepan and add about 1 cup water.

**Both recipes continue here**

Add chili powder, garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped celery and 1 can of stewed tomatoes.  You can substitute a can of cream of celery soup for the chopped celery.  Serve soup with your favorite garnish.