Bouquet Garni.

I confused a few people at one of my classes when I talked about this. It's quite simple as it simply means "spice bag".

 

When making soups, it's easier to use one than to have to fish out bones, bay leaves, etc.

 

A good example is my crock pot bean soup!

 

You know I buy ham on sale, have them slice it for me and freeze the slices individually (MORE HERE). When dicing up a slice for a casserole or soup, I save the "yuck" in a freezer container for just this thing: soup!
This is where cheesecloth is your friend.
:)
Put all your seasonings into it:

For my bean soup I have ham trimmings, bones and a bay leaf.

Then tie it up:

Now you are ready to drop it into the pot with the "good stuff". The cheesecloth still lets the yumminess come out but keeps the yuckies in and makes it very easy to remove when you are ready to serve.

I LOVE these for my crock pot soups!

Navy Bean is simply

• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes
• 2 sliced carrots
• 1/2 a diced onion
• 1 pound of dried beans
• 8 cups of water
• 1 Bouquet Garni
• 1 slice of ham, diced up

Toss it all in, let it rip on low overnight and wake up to the most AH-MA-ZING smell in the house when you wake up. Fish out the spice bag and have a bowl of soup for breakfast.....trust me, you will want to, LOL!

Bon Appetit!