Ham & Beans

I've made ham and beans a number of times, but I'm pretty sure this time I perfected the recipe.  It's a great Sunday afternoon recipe.  It requires a lot of time to simmer but, trust me, it's worth it!

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 ham hocks (I had the best luck finding these at Walmart. They came in a package of 3 and were pre-smoked. Pre-smoked is highly recommended for this recipe!)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 bag (mine was 1 lb 4 oz) of Great Northern Beans
Pepper
8 cups water
Chicken bullion
Hot sauce
Salt

Sort beans.  Throw away any shriveled ones or any small rocks that made it into the bag.  Soak in water over night in a large bowl.

The next day, heat oil in dutch oven or soup pot.  Add ham hocks.  The point here is to draw some of the fat and grease out of the ham hocks.  Sounds delish, right?  After about 5 minutes, remove ham hocks and set to the side.  Add onion and fresh ground pepper to the same pot.  Be generous with the pepper! Saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic. Saute another minute.  Add beans (be sure to rinse after soaking them!) Saute for 3 minutes.

Add water and hot sauce.  I added just a little bit of chicken bullion powder for taste.  This is completely optional, it would still be great without it.  Another option is to do half water, half chicken broth.

Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer.  After 2-3 hours, remove ham hocks, cut through the outer layer of skin and fat and keep the ham.  Return ham to pot.

To thicken, remove a few ladles of beans and mash.  Return to pot. Salt to taste.  Remember ham is very salty, so it may not need any additional salt.  Be sure to taste it first!

From this point you can go ahead and eat, or continue to simmer until you're ready!

Serve with corn bread and other desired toppings.  It doesn't need it, but I add ketchup to mine.  That's how I ate it growing up.  David adds hot sauce.  Let me know if you grew up with different add-ons to a a bowl of ham and beans.  I might be willing to give it a try!

Sausage, pepper, and potato roast

This is my FAVORITE recipe.  It can't get any easier, and the outcome is delicious.  I've altered this recipe many times in an effort to make it healthier (don't be fooled by all the veggies, the sausage kills any chance this has of being healthy) and already have plans for how I'm going to change it next time.

First, you need  1- yellow pepper, 1 - green pepper, and 1- sweet (Vidalia) onion.  It's important you get a sweet onion here.  A sharp purple onion is not going to have the same flavor.  Cut the peppers into long strips and the onion into thin wedges (some of the onion wedges at the bottom of this picture are a little thick).

This is where my attempt at healthiness comes in.  I add a yellow squash (and next time will be adding a zucchini).  Just slice it is fine. The squash ended up being my favorite part, so it's going to become a permanent part of my recipe.

Next add 4-5 red potatoes, quartered.  I forgot to take a picture of these, but like I said, this is my favorite meal and patience is not my strong point.

Then, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt, and pepper to taste.  If your bowl has a lid, great.  Put the lid on and shake, shake, shake! If not, stir until coated!

 Cut up some mild Italian sausage. (Goal for next blog post: learn how to turn photos)

Cover a cookie sheet with foil, spray a VERY light coat of cooking spray on the foil and spread your veggies across it.  Put your chunks of sausage on top.  As the sausage cooks, the grease (see above note about this NOT being healthy) will coat the veggies and make them even more delicious.

Cook for approximately 40 minutes at 400 degrees or until the onions are soft are caramelized and the potatoes are cooked through. Don't be worried by the amount of food, it cooks down in the oven.

Ok, it doesn't cook down this much.  We had already eaten some at this point, but this is your finished product.  It makes quite a bit of food but it reheats well and the leftovers make a great lunch.

So:
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 sweet (Vidalia) onion
1 yellow squash - optional
1 zucchini - optional
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 package mild italian sausage
pepper to taste.