Navy Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 slices bacon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced (I just dice very small)
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced (again, I use a small dice)
3 (16 ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained (I used 3 cups of beans that I cooked and that was plenty for us)
2 (16 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used 4 cups homemade broth)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin

Preparation

In large pot, fry bacon until crisp. (I chop bacon into bits and stir often while it's browning. Also, I just leave the bits in while the veggies cook and omit the crumbling step at the end. :)).
Remove bacon strips and cook garlic, onion, carrots, and celery in hot bacon drippings 'til softened.
Add beans and broth to veggies. Heat until simmering.
Stir in pepper and cumin. Crumble bacon into pot. If using homemade broth, you will probably need to add salt, to taste.
This is great served with cornbread!