Irish Bacon & Bean Stew (with Barley & Beer)

I'm really on my Irish kick lately. It's not often I'm not around this time. Why? Not only because I have a lot of Irish in my blood, but it's because I continue to research & get inspired by Irish fare to make traditional dishes (as authentically as I can) or to create an Irish spin on a meal that could be served in the Emerald Isle.

Pardon me, another moment, while my Irish continues to show thru... (my list of Irish & Irish-like fare, HERE)

I was thinking about some Irish dishes, like Colcannon (find my recipe in this post HERE), but with a healthier spin (hope to have a recipe for that when I've tried it), and then I got thinking about the greens used in it, and what could be substituted.
That led me to thinking about the greens I use in my NEW YEAR'S HAM & BEANS (a twist my usual LAZY COOKER HAM & BEANS).
What if I did an Irish spin on ham & beans??

Something to think about is the fact that Irish bacon is actually more of a cured piece of ham, much like Canadian bacon. So a great substitute is cured pork belly. I also found that Navy Beans are pretty typical in that part of the world. I could totally do a ham & beans stew, lazy cooker Irish style!
(I'm also including a stove top "hot pot" style, too.)

Here's what I did:

**********

IRISH BACON & BEAN STEW

with Barley & Beer

Ingredients:

* 2-3 lb cured pork belly, trimmed or pork shoulder
* 1 lb bag dried navy beans
* 1-2 can(s) navy beans, drained & rinsed
* 1 lb potatoes, lightly scrubbed & diced
* 32 oz chicken stock/broth (you can use pork, beef or vegetable stock/broth, too)
* 1- 2 12 oz bottles/cans Irish stout/ale,can or bottle (I used a bottle of Boulevard Irish Ale)
* 1 C apple cider
* 1 C pearl barley
* 2 T honey (local or Irish honey - I used Irish honey with Jameson whiskey)
* 1 handful coleslaw mix (with carrots)
* 1 sweet onion, diced
* 2 C turnip greens or curly kale, shredded or torn into small pieces
* 1 medium to large parsnip, scrubbed & diced
* 2 medium to large carrots, scrubbed & diced
* 1/2 C brown sugar
* 2-4 bouillon cubes (I used chicken, but you can use beef or pork)
* 1 T liquid smoke (optional)
* seasonings: ground pepper, thyme, caraway seeds, marjoram, parsley, dried chives
* 2 bay leaves


Directions - Lazy Cooker:

~ Soak dry beans in beer & water (or all beer), about 1 inch over the beans, for about 8 hours in a tightly covered container; or soak overnight in water 1 inch above the beans in refrigerator in a container with a tight-fitting lid
     ** If using all beer from 2 containers of the beer, use the reserve of the 2nd container in the stew

~ Once beans are soaked, spray the insert of your lazy cooker with cooking spray

~ Drain & rinse the beans; sort thru them to make sure there are no pebbles; if you find any, discard the pebbles

~ Add the rinsed beans to the lazy cooker insert

~ Take your trimmed pork belly, then add to the lazy cooker (I had some leftover cedar plank smoked ham I augmented with the pork belly)

~ Add in the barley and all of the root vegetables

~ Add in all the seasonings, bouillon cubes, brown sugar, honey, and liquid smoke (if using)

~ Pour in all of the liquids over the beans, pork belly/ham, barley & veggies

~ Place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture

~ Close the lid of the lazy cooker

~ Depending on how long you have, either set the lazy cooker to low for 6-8 hours OR set on high for 4 hours

~ Open can(s) of navy beans; drain & rinse

~ After the first round of cooking times, open the lazy cooker lid, remove the bay leaves, add the rinsed canned navy beans, stir, breaking up the pork, then add the bay leaves back & cook on low for 4 more hours OR on high for 2 hours

~ In the last 45 minutes to 1 hour of cooking, open the lid of the lazy cooker, remove & discard the bay leaves, add in the leafy green pieces & coleslaw mix, stir, and close the lid until done

~ After the cooking is done, give one more great big stir & get ready to ladle into bowls

~ Garnish with a little bit o'parsley, and eat it up



Directions - Stovetop:

~ Soak dry beans in beer & water (or all beer), about 1 inch over the beans, for about 8 hours in a tightly covered container; or soak overnight in water 1 inch above the beans in refrigerator in a container with a tight-fitting lid
     ** If using all beer from 2 containers of the beer, use the reserve of the 2nd container in the stew

~ Once beans are soaked, spray the inside of a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot with cooking spray

~ Drain & rinse the beans; sort thru them to make sure there are no pebbles; if you find any, discard the pebbles

~ Add the rinsed beans to the Dutch oven or stock pot

~ Take your trimmed pork belly & add to the pot (I had some leftover cedar plank smoked ham I augmented with the pork belly)

~ Add in the diced onion

~ Add in the barley

~ Add in all the seasonings, brown sugar, honey, and liquid smoke (if using)

~ Pour in all of the liquids over the beans, pork belly/ham, barley, onions & seasonings

~ Turn up the heat on the burner, and bring the stew to a boil

~ Once boiling, turn down to low to begin simmering, and place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture

~ Put the lid of the pot (hopefully it has one) onto the pot to cook, at a simmer, for about 2 hours

~ After 1 hour of cooking, remove the bay leaves & set aside, then add in the potatoes, carrots, and parsnips; place the bay leaves back on top, and put the lid back onto the pot, slightly askew, and continue simmering for another hour

~ Open can(s) of navy beans; drain & rinse

~ In the last 30 minutes of cooking, open the lid, remove & discard the bay leaves, add in the canned beans, coleslaw mix and leafy green pieces, stir, and close the lid until done

~ After the cooking is done, give one more great big stir, making sure the pork is broken into pieces & get ready to ladle into bowls

~ Garnish with a little bit o'parsley, and eat it up

Tip: You can use hulled barley, just soak it overnight, like the dried beans, and add it in

Yield: approximately 8

**********

This is a dish that would work so well for St. Patrick's Day! So much more Irish in this inspired dish than Corned Beef & Cabbage could ever dream of being.
(I saw it put that Corned Beef & Cabbage is as Irish as spaghetti meatballs, and as American as apple pie. Stew on that. <<< Yep. I just said that.) And no worries about the stew being served to the kiddos. The alcohol of the beer gets cooked off in the process.

I usually serve up my ham & beans with cornbread (as it should be), but with this dish being Irish-inspired, I highly recommend a beautifully traditional and super simple Irish Soda Bread (which only has 4 ingredients), like my lazy cooker version, HERE.

OK...I cheated a little. That's shredded carrot in there. Just because I had it.
And I forgot the canned beans because I was distracted. Still really good!

This is a perfect dish for a cold night or for when you need to feed a slightly larger crowd. And a fabulous comfort food!

Sláinte! 
(That's an Irish toast to "Good Health"!)

ENJOY!

New Year's Day Dishes

So it's a New Year. You've been told you need to eat things like:
          Black Eyed Peas/Beans
          Pork
          Greens
          Circles

Amm-i-rite?

Now you've got those kiddos (or adults) who scrunch up their nose at you at the very thought. Right? We've all got 'em.

I enjoy making a one-dish-covers-all kind meal. And you can put those extra things in there without being full on detected. Much like the NEW YEAR'S HAM & BEANS I make. Seriously, there are some who wouldn't eat black eyed peas or kale (like I used last year), but when I put them in the ham & beans, those same people went back for seconds!

Happened this year, too. So glad! A newbie to my ham & beans said they were pleasantly surprised by the vegetable addition. And I added in extra dark red kidney beans as well as using collard greens instead of kale. Still so good...

You know, if you don't want to do ham & beans, I know some who will put these things into a chili! You can add bacon bits to the chili to cover the pork, too!

OK, I'm going to admit something to you. Until the beginning part of last year, I'd never heard of a thing called Hoppin' John. Seriously. Have you? Since it apparently involves rice, I thought of it as another option for those who don't want full-on ham & beans!

So I began to research. You know what I found out? Americans can sure screw things up! I found a lot of "traditional" Hoppin' John recipes out there, but as I dug further, I discovered it's not actually spicy & doesn't have a bunch of extra ingredients! It's also not supposed to be mushy. It's just simply supposed to be bacon (or ham or sausage) in beans & rice, cooked together, adding each ingredient at a different time. The only seasoning is maybe a little salt & some pepper. It's should be served with a side of collard greens, but since I'm a one-dish-covers-it kind of gal (remember?), I thought I'd add in some of the collard greens with the Hoppin' John.

Also, you can have small red peas/cowpeas that are basically red black-eyed peas! BOOM! Now they are interesting to look at, too.

Dried small red peas/cowpeas...see the black eyes??

Since I have a non-pork eater, I thought I'd add in some liquid smoke, butter, and then some turkey bacon bits. No, it's not pork, but we still worked in the bean & greens thing. So, there's that. And? My daughter LOVED it!! I asked her if I should add in some of the extra veggies & spices others have done, and she said no! She loved the comforting taste & feel of the dish. YAY! This is coming from a girl who doesn't even like beans...but she had several bowls of it! YAY!

Simple, non-pork Hoppin' John

I also had an idea! I had a wonderful, "awful" idea! Stay with me...

Since we have already been trying to eat better around here, and with the running my hubby & I have been doing, I really wanted a dessert that we could really enjoy, yet not feel horrible about! Many of the after-workout protein bars are already like a candy bar, so how could I give an awesome protein follow-up punch to a good run? BROWNIES! Right?

If you know me, you know I will celebrate about ANY holiday to the hilt! It's food, attire, activities, color schemes...everything. With the new year ringing in within hours, I was planning how this year could be different than last year.

Last year I became fully aware of the "Color of the Year," put out by Pantone (go figure), for the defining color of the new year...even with the definition!
Our family began a new tradition, last year, of starting the new year with a casual get-together with great, positive people while enjoying edible new year's traditions together. It was delightfully uplifting! I also decided to use the 2014 color of the year, Radiant Orchid, to decorate a tree with for display. We took down our other trees, but I left up a little tinsel tree adorned with purples, pinks, fuchsias...all in the Radiant Orchid color palette. It was a lot of fun to have up. So, we decided to renew the tradition for 2015!

The Color of the Year, from Pantone, is Marsala! Yes, like the wine. A deep, robust & earthy red-brown. It's very lovely. So I decided to focus on the color for this year's gathering. I left up a small tree to decorate in a lovely deep red with golds & greens, feathers & sparkle. It's rather elegant.

Along the same color lines, I decided to find more for the edible portion of the holiday. Much like those red black-eyed peas being a perfect fit! I'm also added those dark red kidney beans to the ham & beans, along with the Hoppin' John, of course, for the same reason. So why stop there? Why not with the brownies, too??

For the first time, this past year, I heard about bean brownies. Yes...the brownies where you add a can of black beans (or cannellini beans, etc.) to a brownie mix, or homemade brownie batter, for a fiber-filled, protein-filled yummalicious treat! Or so I've heard...
Well, I decided I would make a protein-packed, fiber-filled red velvet cake brownies!!

How can you go wrong with ingredients like these?



Here's what I did...

**********

RED VELVET PROTEIN BROWNIES

Ingredients:

* 1/2 lb. dried small red peas/cowpeas, soaked, drained & rinsed
* 1 can dark red kidney beans, NOT drained
* 1 C red quinoa
* 5 C water
* 1/2 C plain non-fat Greek yogurt (vanilla non-fat Greek yogurt for sweeter taste)
* 1 box red velvet cake mix
* 1 pkg fudge brownie mix
* 1 bag chocolate chips (dark best, but any will work) OR 1 bag peanut butter chips; divided
* 1/4 C natural creamy peanut butter (if not using peanut butter chips)

** Used a food processor and standing mixer for this recipe


Directions:

~ Soak dry beans in water, placed in the fridge, for about 8 hours

~ Remove beans from fridge, drain & rinse (check for pebbles)

~ Place drained & rinsed beans in a medium saucepan, then cover with 5 C water


~ Bring water in saucepan to a boil, then lower burner to low & cover with lid (kept tilted) and allow to simmer until beans are tender (abut 1 1/2-2 hours)

~ In the las 30 minutes of the beans cooking, add in the quinoa (you can rinse if you'd like, first - I didn't)

~ Once beans are cooked thru & the quinoa has expanded, take off the burner to cool for several minutes (may have standing water...which is OK)

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

~ When the bean & quinoa mixture has cooled significantly, transfer to the bowl of your food processor

~ Open the can of dark red kidney beans, and add all contents into the food processor

~ Turn on the food processor (I used the chop setting) until mixture is a creamy consistency

~ Stop the process, open the food processor, then add the Greek yogurt

~ Close lid & start the food processor back up to incorporate the yogurt into the mixture

~ When all the beans, quinoa & yogurt are creamed together, stop the food processor

~ Put the contents of the cake mix & brownie mix into the bowl of the standing mixer

~ Transfer the bean mixture into the standing mixer bowl

~ Incorporate the mixes, chips & bean mixture on low in the standing mixer

~ Add in about 1/2-2/3 of the chocolate chip (or peanut butter chip) bag to the batter slowly

~ While it all mixes, spray a 9"x13" cake pan with cooking spray or lay down parchment paper

~ Once all the ingredients are good & mixed, pour it into the prepared cake pan - it will be thick! You will probably want to spread it with a rubber spatula.

~ Place the filled cake pan into the oven for about 25 minutes, until cake brownies are firm to the touch (may do the toothpick/knife test, but it may not come out completely clean)

~ While the brownies bake, melt the remaining chocolate chips with the peanut butter (or just the peanut butter chips); I put the remaining chips from the bag into a small bowl with the peanut butter, then put the bowl in a slightly larger bowl filled half-way with water, then placed in the microwave for 2 minutes - when done, I took out the bowl with the chocolate & peanut butter, then stirred them until completely incorporated & smooth (you may use a stovetop method if you so choose)

~ When the brownies are done, take out of the oven & allow to cool for about 10 minutes

~ Once the brownies are cooled enough to touch without burning yourself, carefully cut it up into smaller squares (I cut mine into 24 brownies)

~ Either with a spoon for drizzling, or placing the chocolate/peanut butter mixture into a small plastic storage bag with a tiny hole cut on the corner, begin to drizzle the mixture over the cut brownies

~ Allow to set for about 1 hour while the drizzle harden

~ Serve or keep covered with foil


** Perfect to grab with a glass of chocolate milk after your next workout

Yield: about 24 servings

**********

When I tried them, I had a partial bag of chocolate chips that I used for the topping. I didn't have any to put IN the brownies. Also, I used the plain non-fat Greek yogurt...I want to try the vanilla. Without the chocolate chips & extra vanilla flavoring, these are a rich consistency, but are not sweet at all! So if you are not big on sweets, and still want a treat for after your long run, well...here you go!

Either way...they are rich & have a great moist texture!

So, with a new year setting in, and if you have a resolution to begin getting in shape, or if you are looking forward to staying in shape, consider these to have as guilt-free muscle rebuilding! It's also a beautiful color that coincides with the 2015 color of the year!! YUM!! Plus, the beans, quinoa, Greek yogurt & peanut butter will give you a power-protein-punch!! BOOM!

Now have a happy & blessed new year!

Oh, and do me a favor and NOT tell my kiddos they were enjoying beans & quinoa for dessert! OK? Thanks...

ENJOY!

Smokey Mexi-Mocha Chili

My hubby makes great chili! I know a lot of guys (even gals) claim they have the best, but my hubby's is kind of different & so good. He makes a chili that's sweet & spicy.

OK...he tones down the spicy so I can eat it, but he puts in his own special ingredients. And I'm a sucker for the sweeter side of foods. Creamier, too. And his chili is more of a stoup (a Rachael Ray term for "thicker than soup & thinner than stew"). It's got a good, bold flavor that is sweet & savory.

It's important to know this about my hubby's chili, but let's jump to my own  ingredient search:

I love chocolate. No really...I. Love. Chocolate. And I will try all kinds to see if it's to my liking or not. One day, as I was searching the candy aisle at the grocery store, I discovered something that began my brain's wheels to start turning on overdrive. Lindt has a dark chocolate bar that contains chili pepper in it! Did you know that? And I questioned why...

Quite some time later, I learned that there are people who have added cocoa to their chili recipes. wha-WHA?? I know, right?

Then I got thinking about that chili chocolate bar from Lindt...
I had already been adding a square of it to my Spicy Mexi-Mocha (recipe HERE).

My hubby has talked about trying a Tex-Mex seasoning in his chili, and I remembered him saying that...so I got thinking about the whole spicy chocolate in chili, much like my Mexi-mocha. And, mocha includes coffee...so I thought I'd throw in some coffee, too! Because...well...I also LOVE coffee!! I. Love. Coffee.

Then a friend of mine put her vegan chili recipe out there. Imagine my shock when it, too, included coffee!! Since then, I had seen where a couple of chili recipe demos, on news segments, that also included coffee.

But...none of those recipes had included both chocolate AND coffee!! I had even tried to research other recipes that had those ingredients. Guess what I found! Nada...nothing...zip...zero. So, I was on my own.

I also love a smokey flavor to my chili, along with a lot of other soups & meats. So I thought I'd include it here, too.

So, after some research of spices & other chili recipes, and finally getting all the ingredients I needed for what I wanted to use, here's what I came up with:

~~~~~~~~~~

SMOKEY MEXI-MOCHA CHILI

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or turkey; browned, drained & rinsed
1 14.5 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1-2 can(s) black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can corn, drained (I used a can with no salt added)
1-2 sweet red bell pepper, deseeded & diced
1 beef bouillon cube
1½ cup dark roast/strong coffee, brewed
½ cup minced onion or 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced - divided
½ chili dark chocolate bar; broken into much smaller pieces
3 T cumin
2 T parsley
2 T oregano
3 T flour
3 T cinnamon
1 T nutmeg
1cup brown sugar
2-3 T vinegar
3 T liquid smoke
3 T smoked paprika
3 T chili powder
3 pinches ground cayenne pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
garlic powder to taste
3 T honey
3 T vanilla extract
½ tsp anise extract (you seriously don't want too much of this, but just enough to give umph)
2 tsp cardamom
2 T each: unsweet cocoa & dark cocoa
2 T sugar
1 T salt
1 T ground black pepper

Directions:

~ in a large pot, brown meat thoroughly, adding half the onions; drain, rinse & add back into the pot

~ turn heat to mid-high heat, then add the beans, corn, bell pepper, the rest of the onions, and tomatoes (sauce, diced & paste) to the meat; stir

~ add in the coffee, liquid smoke, honey & extracts, then stir

~ begin to add all the other ingredients, stir & allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes

~ stir again & take a test taste to figure out where you might want to adjust seasonings & such, depending on how spicy, sweet &/or smokey you want it, then allow to simmer again to get those flavors all blended

* if you cannot live without a couple shimmy-shakes of tabasco sauce or chipotle seasoning, put it in...they are very fitting for this dish
* serve with cornbread or tortilla chips; sprinkle the top with cheese &/or sour cream, if desired

* use it as a hearty dip at your next fiesta

*serving suggestion: ladle the chili into a pottery mug (or any mug)...cuz...mocha should be in a mug

~~~~~~~~~~

This a different, yet yummy flavor for a chili. Perfect for a cold night (cuz...uh...chili) &/or for something like Cinco de Mayo, Dios de los Muertos, or even a different twist to for your Navidad fiesta...or any other night.

There are some surprising ingredients in this chili, but I really did take lead from my hubby's chili & a yummy Mexi-mocha. I even used the mocha idea as the basis for my Mexi-cocoa cake, too (recipe HERE)!

I mean...in ancient times, cocoa was mixed with spices & peppers before sugar & cream. So this is right on track with all of that!

As for the pepper, you can also mix it up by adding orange &/or yellow to make it more festive, too.

ENJOY!

New Year's Ham & Beans

Happy New Year, everyone! Looking forward to a brand new start...

And, to start the new year, we decided to take in some of the long-standing traditions. In case you need a reminder of what some of the mainstays are, here you go:

= black eyed peas - to bring you luck in the new year for nourishment & survival

= pork - pigs are the animals who root forward while they eat & are associated with their girth size; symbolized moving forward in the new year & prosperity 

= greens - to bring you money in the new year

= cornbread - the color of gold

= round foods - the shape of coins, in hopes of bringing money

Well, I incorporated all of these things in our noon-day meal for New Year's Day! One dish to cover all of this? Perfect!

What might have been that perfect dish? It's my Lazy-Cooker Ham & Beans (my original recipe HERE), but with a twist. I kind of touched on it in the original post, but here's what I ended up doing:

~~~~~~~~~~

NEW YEAR'S HAM & BEANS

Ingredients:

~ 1-3 lbs. ham, cubed or chunked (the pork)

~ 1 bag dry beans (I use the 15 bean mix), soaked, drained & rinsed

~ 2-3 cans white beans (Northern, Navy, Cannelli), drained & rinsed

~ 1 can black eyed peas (tradition covered), drained & rinsed

~ 32 oz. chicken broth

~ 1/2 C apple cider

~ 1/4 C lemon juice

~ 2 T liquid smoke

~ 2 T honey

~ 2 celery stalks, rinsed & chopped

~ 2 carrots, rinsed & sliced (left in rounds...for the coin shape)

~ 1 parsnip, rinsed & sliced (left in rounds...for the coin shape)

~ half to 1 whole sweet yellow onion, chopped

~ 1 large kale, cabbage, collard greens, Swiss chard leaf (or more - green of choice), rinsed, spine removed & chopped (greens tradition); massaged in ground sea salt & a tsp lemon juice (may add more greens if desired)

~ 2 handfuls brown sugar

~ handful minced onion (optional)

~ handful smoked paprika

~ handful cinnamon

~ handful garlic powder

~ handful dried parsley

~ sprinkle chili powder

~ sprinkle allspice

~ sprinkle McCorrmick's Smokehouse Maple seasoning

~ 1-2 pinches ground cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (optional if more heat desired)

~ 2 bay leaves

Directions:

* soak dry beans in enough water to cover the beans by 1 & a half inches over for about 8 hours

* when beans have soaked appropriately, drain, rinse & discard any pebbles

* spray the lazy cooker insert with cooking spray, then add the beans (not canned) & ham

* pour in the chicken broth, apple cider, lemon juice, liquid smoke & honey

* add in the veggies except the greens of choice

* add in the spices except the bay leaves

* give the mixture a really good stir

* pop in those bay leaves & close the lid

* either set the lazy cooker on high for 4-5 hours

OR

set the lazy cooker on low for 8 hours (if wanting for lunch, so do all of this before bed after you've toasted in the new year)

* remove the bay leaves, add in the canned beans, give a good stir, add the bay leaves back in & close the lid

* set lazy cooker on low for 4 more hours

* in the last 20-45 minutes, remove the bay leaves & discard, then add in the greens, stir & close lid

* give one more really good stir, ladle into bowls & serve with cornbread

~~~~~~~~~~

Since we were serving this for lunch on New Year's Day, I started soaking the dry beans at lunch the day before, then started getting everything assembled & started after we toasted in the new year (as a tip: I would have everything already sliced, chopped, cubed, etc. so that you are not trying to do all of the slicing, chopping, cubing, etc. with a champagne buzz at 1:00 in the morning). The beans & ham were cooking for about 12 hours, total. When I got up in the morning, things were smelling like ham & beans, and I got to go right into the last steps.

We had a get-together to start out the new year with great friends...so I doubled this recipe. Yep! I had two lazy cookers going! But I'll tell you what...not everyone showed up and we went thru 1 whole lazy cooker & half of the other one. Many got seconds, too!

If you have someone who cringes at the thought of consuming black eyed peas &/or the greens...you could not taste a difference in this version from my original one! My hubby is not fond of black-eyed peas OR the kale/greens. He is one that got seconds!

And...it was perfect for the super cold day that set it while it filled us up for the rest of the evening.

I also had the whiners covered: I had my daughter make up some cole slaw for the greens, and I made up some canned black eyed peas with a stick of butter, a handful of brown sugar & some [turkey] bacon bits (had to be fake pork due to my non-pork eater).

For something a bit sweeter, I made cheater Danish pastries (my variation of the recipe HERE, but used the original recipe) & added a strawberry half to the top to resemble a heart to bring love in the new year.

bowl of ham & beans with black eyed peas & kale
served with cornbread
and shown with Love Danish Pastries

What a great start to the new year! I think we may have found a new tradition in these traditions! And they were delicious!

Hope this inspires you to keep up & find ways to work in these traditions...even if you have whiners. 

ENJOY!

Ham & Mixed Beans - Lazy Cooker

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I had never had ham & beans until one of our groups at church invited us to one of their annual Christmas dinner events. So, the hubby & I decided we would go & mingle with the group while enjoying these ham & beans with cornbread we'd heard so much about.

Now then, hubby has apparently been a fan of ham & beans. He especially loves the cornbread! But this might mean I would have to figure out how to fix this meal. Amm-i-rite? And I had gotten some dry beans (15 bean mix) and wasn't sure what to do with them, but then we had some leftover ham...so...time to make some ham & beans!

After looking thru and researching a LOT of ham & bean recipes, this is what I came up with:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAM & BEANS

Lazy Cooker

Ingredients:

1 lb bag (mixed) beans
1-3 cans white beans (i.e. Navy, Northern, Canelli, etc.) rinsed & drained
8 C (apprx.) chunked/cubed ham
¼ C minced onion
1 T garlic powder
½ T onion powder
½ C brown sugar
1 T honey
2 bay leaves
(kosher/sea/table) salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 t lemon juice
¼ C celery, chopped
¼ C carrot, chopped or shredded
1 t chili powder (more if you want more kick)
42 oz. chicken broth + additional water (if needed)
1 T apple cider (optional)
1 t allspice
1 T cinnamon

Directions:

* Place dried beans in a large pot or bowl & soak beans for at least 8 hours (i.e. overnight) or longer in about 2 qts. water  

* When good & soaked, drain the beans & rinse them. 

* Spray the inside of your lazy cooker with vegetable cooking spray. 

* Place the soaked & rinsed beans into the lazy cooker

* Cover with chicken broth & enough water to about an inch over the beans

* Cube the ham (I used leftover ham) to 1” squared or smaller and add to the lazy cooker

* Add the lemon juice, cider (optional), honey, veggies, spices, brown sugar, salt & pepper (not the bay leaves) to the lazy cooker & stir

* Add the bay leaves into the lazy cooker

* Cover & set the lazy cooker to high for 4-5 hours

* After the 4-5 hours, add the rinsed, canned white beans, stir, then set low for another 4 hours

* Remove bay leaves & stir

~ Serve with cornbread.

~~ Yield: Approximately 12

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* NOTE: I really love the appley zing of the cider. If I don't have any around, I will add an envelope of apple cider mix. That's how I roll.

My kids really won't eat beans...and we have that darn non-pork-eating kid! So it's mostly my hubby & I that eat it...but so worth it!! And my hubby LOVES it! So do I!

Oh...I just make a cornbread from a mix...and my hubby still loves it, too! The kids will eat the cornbread with some honey butter.

No matter...it is awesome smelling & perfect comfort food for a cold night! Or anytime for that matter. Plus? It's pretty!! I love the color & variety in the beans. YUM!

ENJOY!

**************

P.S. ~ For a New Year's version, add a can of black eyed peas, rinsed & drained, plus a 16 oz bag of cole slaw mix or a head of chopped cabbage. Add these in with the white beans. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!