I treat Bear Creek navy bean soup as a starter - It does need something else; Its short on meat and there is something in its flavoring that I rather it not be there. Here's what I've added in the past. Use one or more of these ingredeints. 1. A can of spam. Dice into little cubes and put in after the soup is almsot done. 2. Canned chicken breast. Cut into small pieces and add after the soup is nearly done. The chicken has already been cooked in the canning process. 3. Sandwich meat: Ham or turkey. 2 to 4 slices, diced. Add and stir in about half way through cooking the soup. These meats are already cooked and ready to eat. The half way point or later provides enough time for the flavor to permeate the mix. 4. Garden vegtables. Carrots, Celery, Corn, Peas, Potatoes. Dice the carrots and/or celery and put in near the begining of the cooking process. 5. Celery seed. Put in either celery seed or chopped celery. Do not use both. 6. V-8 tomato juice can be added to this and other soups. 7. Milk may added to tone down the sting of peppers, but milk tends to 'boil over', so watch it when the first boil appears. I like my bean soup with peppery spices. I may add tabasco (sparingly) or louisana hot sauce. Add to taste. If you do not like the taste of the red pepper family, use freshly ground black pepper. Now, if you leave out the Bear Creek soup, you can make a fair vegtable and meat soup with the above ingredients. Add potatoes cut into small pieces. You can shorten the cooking time of potatoes by first partially baking them in a microwave oven and then cut them up.

This sounds good, Woodie...especially in our freezing cold weather. I like the chopped fresh baby spinach added at the end. Will definitely make this! Ann

bragu, I wasn't using the lid with the ring, I was using the glass Instant Pot lid which does have a vent hole. Maybe it's too much venting, allowing heat to escape. I could plug itup somehow. leah, my cooker isn't like that, it's just a 6 qt. version, but I do think it's on the warmest setting automatically. No big deal, I can always get out the crockpot. I just wondered if I was doing something wrong using the glass lid. Thanks all.

When I was young, my male buddies would tell me their relationship woes. I told them one of the most romantic things they could do was clean the bathroom to her standards. That includes scrubbing, polishing off streaks, and folding the towels right. This was inevitably shocking, even though they saw what it looked like after she cleaned. They thought the bare minimum that their mothers allowed--towels off the floor and hairs cleared up--was "clean". They also found happier ladies when they took my advice. :) Poor dears never realized before that they were actual burdens.... Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to train them when they're young and eager to please. I also have given If a Man Answers to girlfriends, as introduction to real life operant conditioning, 😁