What I made for dinner...

I found this E-book a while back from Crystal at The Family Homestead. It was a worthwhile investment, because we've used the recipes over and over. It looks like her format has changed to a CD, but the same great ideas are still there! She also has a menu planning section that I have yet to put to use....

The recipe I used tonight was the "Navy Bean Soup." I have tweaked it a little to fit my guys and their tastebuds. The results are very tasty! Good for winter soups, for all you people who actually have a real winter. (It was 73 down here yesterday!)

Navy Bean Soup

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large soup pot

Chop up and add:
1 med. onion
1 cup celery
1 carrot
Cook until onion and celery are soft.

Add:
3 cups dry navy beans (small white beans)
12 cups water
1 Tbsp salt

Bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Stir occasionally, cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Ham bone/meat can be added if desired.

Okay, now I did mine a little bit different than hers. First of all, I have NEVER had beans work without soaking them overnight. So, I soaked the navy beans. Then I used 1/2 a packet of onion soup mix instead of a plain onion. I also thawed and used some diced ham from our New Year's Day dinner that I had frozen. After I had all that going in the pot, I made some country/white gravy and added it to the soup. This made it a thicker soup, and not so plain. The guys ate it right up!! Good luck!

Recipes....

Here's what we've been cooking up lately!

First, the Pumpkin Bread I mentioned a few days ago. This comes from an Amish cookbook, and those ladies can cook.

1 c. cooking oil
2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. pumpkin (or 1 16 oz. can)
4 eggs
nuts, optional

Mix all ingredients well, and pour into 3 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350. (I usually need an hour and 15mins in my oven.)


Next, since we're in Cajun Land, we often eat "Gumbo." Here's our Chicken Gumbo recipe.

1 whole chicken. Plucked and ready to cook, :-)
2 c. flour
2 c. vegetable oil
2 sausage links, cut into bite size pieces
2 c. celery, chopped
2 c. white onion, chopped
(To taste: salt, garlic, red pepper, chili pepper, black pepper. Or just find some Lawry's Seasoning Salt.)

Boil chicken until meat is ready to fall off bone. While chicken is boiling, make "roux."

In a skillet on MED heat, mix flour into 1 Tbsp oil at a time, until all the oil is added. Stir constantly until dark brown. Remove from heat while you debone chicken. Debone chicken and set aside, keep the broth heating. Add roux mixture and chicken back into the broth. Desired consistency is medium, not "soupy" or watery, yet not too thick. Add vegetables and sausage, cook until soft. Add seasonings to taste. (We do it spicy down here!) Serve over rice, usually with potato salad also.

bon appetit!