Sweet & Savory Friday ~~ Navy Bean Soup & Cornbread

      
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Cups Dried Small Navy Beans
• 1 - 8 ounce package diced ham
• 2 - medium onions, chopped
• 1 - Tsp. freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• Sort through dried beans to remove gravel and debris
• Sprinkle 1 tsp. baking soda over beans and mix together in large bowl
• Cover beans with water and soak over night
• Drain and rinse beans with water in colander the following morning
• Place in crock pot or in large saucepan on stove top
• Add diced ham
• Chop onions and add to mixture
• Add pepper 
• Cover with water and cook 6 hours on high setting on crock pot or cook on stove top until beans are tender

HELPFUL HINTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• If preparing the bean soup in a crock pot, add just enough water so that it covers the beans by about one inch.
• I process the onions in my food processor until they are the puree stage, and this seems to help them blend into the soup nicely.
• If possible, stir the soup several times during the day while it is cooking.
• This soup is delicious if served with cornbread.  I add a 4-oz. can of diced mild green chilies to the standard cornbread recipe.

BEANS ARE BENEFICIAL!

• Aside from fresh meat, beans are one of the least expensive sources of protein.
• Beans contain a boat load of nutrients including antioxidants, along with vitamins and minerals such as copper, folate, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese.
• You can prepare a healthy, inexpensive meal for your family using beans as the main course.
• Several varieties of beans are grown within our great state, so you will be helping to support your local economy while feeding your family.

Happy Eating & Reading!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Crockpot Chicken Comfort Dinner

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 - 10.5 ounce cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 2/3 cup milk or water
• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp. Poultry Seasoning
• Salt and/or pepper, optional
• 1 - 6 oz. pkg. stuffing mix
• 1 2/3 cup water 

DIRECTIONS:

• Stir together soup and milk or water (whichever one you choose to dilute the soup) in the bottom of Crockpot.
• Place chicken breasts in bottom of Crockpot.
• Sprinkle Poultry Seasoning over chicken breasts.
• Sprinkle Salt/Pepper over chicken breasts (optional).
• Combine the water with stuffing mix in separate bowl and stir to blend together.
• Spoon the stuffing over chicken breasts.
• Cover and cook on low setting for 6 hours.

(The above photo depicts what your mixture will look like after all ingredients are placed inside Crockpot)

Serve with vegetable of your choice, dinner rolls, fruit, or other comfort foods your family enjoys.

This is a delicious chicken recipe and so easy to prepare. You just fix it and forget it! 

Happy cooking, eating & reading!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Busy Day Casserole

                                                    BUSY DAY CASSEROLE


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• Seasonings of your choice such as garlic powder, seasoned pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, seasoned salt, dehydrated onion, etc.
• 1 - 14 oz. can of cut green beans
• 1 - 10.5 oz can Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 -  24 oz. bag of frozen tater tots

Directions:

• Place uncooked ground beef in bottom of 9 x 9 inch square bake ware.
• Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice.
• Drain liquid from can of green beans and spread evenly over top of seasoned meat.
• Spread cream soup evenly over top of green beans.
• Layer tater tots on top.
• Bake one hour at 350 degrees or until tots are golden brown.

Helpful hints:

• The very best part about this recipe is that it can be assembled in about 10 minutes flat, and you do not need to brown the ground beef before placing it inside the bake ware!  This is a huge time saver to say the least.
• It's fun to experiment using different seasonings in this recipe.  I would start out using the seasonings that your family likes the best, and then add some additional ones the next time you make it.
• This is a great dish to take to someone who has just experienced a death in the family; to the mother of a newborn baby; to a potluck dinner, and so forth.
• The recipe can be made ahead of time and placed in the freezer to be cooked at a later time.
• Some people like to put Ketchup on top before eating their serving of it.
• This recipe has continued to be one of our family favorites for generations. 
• I have made this dish in a crock pot and cooked it on a low setting for about 6 hours and it turned out very well!

Living in the west, it puts a big smile on my face to be using beef and potatoes when preparing meals for my family.  

Happy Eating & Happy Reading!

This recipe is taken from the official Sheila Fabulous Collection.

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