Done - Finally!

The  cookies and banana nut bread have been baked. All the packages are wrapped and under the Christmas tree (oh why do I wait so late?) We even did some house cleaning. I dusted. You would think for someone who is allergic to dust and dust mites that I might get to this more often. The thing about dusting every 3 months is that you can really tell the difference :)

The last quilt is finally completed. I just finished the last stitch to the Sassy Sixteen quilt for my godchild/niece who turned 16 this year. We will see her on Saturday. She lives in Baton Rouge.We leave on Friday to drive to Louisiana to visit my Dad and my husband's mother. They are both living in assisted living communities. This past year has been difficult for both of them. It's rather depressing, but we are blessed to still have them with us.

Please say a prayer for  Marion's nephew's family. His wife is pregnant with their first child. She was hospitalized yesterday. The baby is about 32 weeks. They are in California and on their own. The baby is a girl - Baby Kate. As much as we are anxious for her arrival, we would love for her to wait a bit.

Merry, Merry Christmas, dear friends!!! May this be a special time for you and your family.

Our Family Tradition

The first Christmas that we were married I found a French Market Bean Soup recipe in Southern Living Magazine. My husband and I went to the grocery store and purchased 20 pounds of dried beans. We mixed the beans, bagged them in ziplock bags, reproduced the recipe and gave them to coworkers and friends for Christmas gifts. That was 21 years ago. Over the years Marion, my husband,  has revised the recipe, we've added lots of beans to the mix. This year we mixed the beans in one of our rolling ice chests. Seems there were over 50 pounds of beans. We all have our roles in the production line. Marion buys the beans. Michael, our son and I take them out of the plastic bags. Michael mixes them in the ice chest. I purchase Christmas stationary and make copies of the revised recipe. Michael and Marion bag the mix. Over the years we've also begun making a Cajun Spice to use with the recipe. It's one Marion revised from one of Emeril Lagase's cookbooks. The real secret with the spice mix is to purchase fresh spices from one of the international markets. While I can't send the bean mix to you my blogging friends, I can give you the recipe. It works with any mixture of dried beans, about 2 cups worth. I especially love the colors of the cranberry, pinto, black, and red beans.

 CAJUN BEAN MIX

 

1 bag Bean Mix (2 cups of dried beans)

1 pound sausage (sliced) or ham (cubed)

1 onion chopped

½ bell pepper chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

3 cloves garlic crushed

1 can Rotel tomatoes (in the canned vegetable section)

2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, such as Tony’s Chachere’s    Cajun Seasoning

Hot sauce to taste

Green onions and/or parsley

 

Wash beans thoroughly.  Place beans in large Dutch oven and cover with water 2 inches above beans.  Soak overnight.  Drain beans and set aside in a bowl.  Sauté sausage or ham until brown, add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes in the Dutch oven.  Add beans, tomatoes and seasoning and cover with fresh water (2 inches above beans).  Cook on low to medium-low heat for 1-2 hours or until beans are tender.  Serve over rice.  Garnish with green onions and/or parsley.

 

Note:  You may add more water during the cooking and serve as a bean soup.