Senate Bean Soup

I love to eat at our local McGuire's Restaurant 
and out of all the many items on their menu, 
the Senate Bean Soup is my very favorite!  
They only charge 18 cents if you order it with an entree, 
so even if my lunch companions don't want it, 
I make them order it anyway so that 
I can take home the leftovers!  
This soup wasn't exactly like theirs, but a very close second!




Senate Bean Soup

1 lb dried navy beans

4 qt water

1 bay leaf

3 whole cloves

1 large ham bone 

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 stalks celery

2 large carrots peeled and diced very small

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Rinse and soak beans overnight. 

Next day--drain beans and place in 

large stockpot with ham bone.  

Add cold water to cover plus 2 inches and bring to a boil. 

 Add a spice pouch from cheesecloth 

containing the bay leaf and cloves.  

Reduce heat to medium and cook, 

stirring occasionally until beans are tender 

and meat is falling off the bone, about 3 hours.  

Add hot water if the level gets too low.  

We cooked ours in a pressure cooker because 
Momma loves to cook her dried beans this way--
for about 1 1/2 hours. 

Remove the spice pouch and the bone. 

I removed 1 cup of the beans and some liquid and pureed it and then added it back to the pot.  

Shred the meat from the bone and 

add it to the soup.  

We added more salt and pepper to taste. 

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Part of the delicious, healthy ingredients...

The dried  beans that we soaked overnight and drained...

The ham bone--left over from dinner a couple of nights ago...

Add the beans, the chopped veggies and liquid to the pot with the ham bone...
Place the cheesecloth with the cloves and bay leaf in ...

You can cook yours in a large pot or a pressure cooker like we did...

The delicious view after 1 1/2 hours in the pressure cooker...

I pureed a bit of the beans and some stock and added it back to the pot...

It made a very hearty dinner with our skillet cornbread--enjoy!




Fried Pies & Fireflies Skillet Cornbread

2 cups White Lily Self Rising Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix or Aunt Jemima Cornmeal Mix with Buttermilk

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1 large egg

1 TBSP sugar

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  

Pour 1 - 2 TBSP oil in your 10 inch iron skillet and 
let it heat in the oven until you have the cornbread mixed up.

Combine all the remaining ingredients 
and stir until all moistened.   

Pour into your heated skillet.  
Bake 20- 25 minutes.  

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Heat a bit of oil in that beautiful skillet...



In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal mix, oil, sugar, eggs...

the buttermilk...



Mix until combined and pour into your hot skillet...

Bake about 20 minutes and your have this hot, 
moist, crusty bread...Yum!



A bonus!  I didn't get her before she started cooking it, 
but this was the first time Mom cooked Kale.  
She bought one of the bags in the produce aisle, added it to the skillet with some olive oil, a little water 
and pieces of left over ham---
cooked it down a bit and it was very yummy--
especially with the corn bread.  One of our new favorites!