Pinto beans and cornbread are a big favorite here. I boil a big ham bone for stock, recover any meat, and add beans that have soaked overnight in a baking soda/water mix. (rinse several times first!!) I then add onion, garlic, pepper, a bay leaf, and whatever I have on hand...I like to add celery (especially the leaves) and green pepper, but don't always.
Then cornbread, baked in a little bacon grease in the cast iron skillet.
My kid recently made us try a "Redwall" bean soup - Stones inna Swamp. It was a bean soup with all kinds of vegetables added, and then oat dumplings cooked in the last half hour. I shouldn't copy the recipe down, I suppose...but the book, The Redwall Cookbook, is probably in your local library, in the kids section. It was a very good bean soup!
I suppose the only other thing I always do when cooking...I never add just salt. I always use bouillion instead, whatever flavor goes best with the mix. I keep chicken, beef and ham flavor all the time.