*Foot Loose!!*

Foot Loose is playing on the radio as I type this post!

This is EXACTLY how I am feeling this morning, bopping here in my chair. This song just makes me want to get up and DANCE!

The men folk have gone to their prospective jobs - - - Yes, The holidays are “officially” over and the house is mine for the day and I can get down to business! ((Once the song is over….pardon me while I go dance a bit more!))

First off – An announcement! I woke up to an email from Madame Samm over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure that they want my post to go live THIS SATURDAY! Oh My! Seems there is a conflict with who they had scheduled, and we are swapping places. This works great for me actually, as I don’t head out to Lincoln Nebraska for my visit with the Lincoln Quilters Guild until Sunday so the timing is perfect! I can do a post there, and upload a new quilt for you here, and get out of town!

So I’m off and running today. The quilt for Saturday still needs quilting and binding! And I need to write the finale for Roll Roll Cotton Boll! It’s going to be a busy week in the basement…but I’m ready!

And it’s good that I have lots of THIS left-over because it’s going to make dinner so so easy for me while I’m doing this:

Yeah It’s a bit more than half gone, but we have had it TWICE already! This is the 16 bean & ham soup that I made after Christmas on Thursday --- It was our power lunch for quilting the tie quilts, and fueling us for our run to Ikea. It fed us the day that Mr & Mrs Goodneedle came over, filling the house with delicious smells. And it is one of those that definitely is better the next day! This also makes a LOT and freezes really well.

And I’m sorry the crockpot looks a bit well….cooked! But this is real life photography, not Cuisine TV. I’ve had requests for the recipe so here you go:

Crock pot Ham & 16 Bean Soup

1 ham bone with plenty of meat attached!

We had a spiral ham for Christmas, and when cutting the slices off, I knew I was going to be using the bone for this soup so I was generous with what I left! You can also use a couple of ham hocks, or diced ham steak.

3 cups 16 bean mix, dry!

Rinse beans and pick out any broken or other bits.

Place beans, ham bone, and 1/2 of a diced onion in a large crock pot and cover well with water. Cook on high for 6-8 hours until beans are tender and meat falls from bones.

Remove meat and bones, trimming any cartilage, fat and removing bone fragments. At this point I shred the meat. I like it better shredded than having it diced into little cubes. Return meat to pot. Add more water as necessary.

Chop 2-3 carrots and 2 stalks of celery and add to soup. Throw in 2 bay leaves and a tsp of oregano. Cook until veggies are tender.

Taste broth to determine how much salt it needs. Ham is salty so I don’t do this until last! Salt to taste, and add cracked black pepper to taste as well.

And this is the best part! Add 3 Tbl brown sugar ((this cuts the bitterness of the beans)) and 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder! YUMMY!

Of course this meal has to be served with cornbread topped with honey butter. Oh how I love my crockpot and how easy it makes my life ---