Kids Dish

I bought a flat iron steak on a whim from my meat buying club because it was relatively inexpensive and I somehow confused it with flank steak. When I saw it I realized that it was pretty small, not the type of steak I could split with Bob and serve with potatoes so it’s been in the freezer for a few months. Today I decided that even though it’s supposed to be grilled, and it’s not traditionally the right cut of meat for a stir, it was destined for a stir fry anyway.

I mixed up a quick Asian marinade and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. Then I threw it in a big, wok-like pan with some bok choy, broccoli and garlic while I cooked some brown minute rice. It took less than half an hour to get it on the table. Everybody liked it, including my mother who claims to hate vegetables and the unpredictable two-year-old.

1 flat iron steak cut into half-inch strips
2 heads of bok choy
1 head of broccoli
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

For the marinade mix together:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Let the meat marinate, covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24. Cut the broccoli into florets of similar size. If your broccoli has them, reserve the leaves. Separate the leaves from the stems of the bok choy. Cut the stems lengthwise, then cut into one inch pieces. Stack the leaves and cut into ribbons (with the broccoli leaves if you have them). Stir the sugar into the soy sauce until dissolved.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet with high sides. Drain the meat and add when the oil is almost smoking. Cook until brown on one side, then flip. When the meat is almost cooked through add the boy choy stems and the broccoli florets. Cook for about three minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Add the soy sauce mixture and leaves to the wok and stir. When the greens are wilted add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds more. Serve over rice.

I like the idea of slow cooking. It doesn’t use as much energy as cooking in the oven or stove top and dinner is on the table with very little effort at the end of the day. So I busted out the crock pot (I actually have a Rival Crock Pot so I’m not speaking generically) for the first time in three years and made a pot roast yesterday. It took about half an hour to prep the ingredients in the morning and by dinner time all I had to do was make a few quick sides. This was only the second time I’ve ever made a pot roast and based on my previous experience I think the slow cooker is the way to go.

5lb roast (chuck, brisket, top or bottom round)
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 lb carrots peeled and chopped
3 onions chopped medium
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (don’t substitute dried- just skip it if you don’t have fresh)

Heat the oil in a large pan until shimmering. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and salt and pepper it. Brown the roast on all sides,about ten minutes total. Remove the roast to a plate and add onions and carrots to pan. Cook until onions are soft and translucent and carrots are browned, about five minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (You can prepare up until this point the night before. Refrigerate the meat and vegetables separately.) Pour in the red wine and scrape up any brown bits. Remove from heat.

Put the roast and its juices in the slow cooker. Pour in the wine and vegetables. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 9-10. Remove the roast from the slow cooker and let rest for five minutes before slicing. Remove the bay leaves, add the chopped parsley and puree the remaining vegetables into the sauce with a stick blender or in batches in a regular blender and pass as gravy. (You can skip this step, but if your kids don’t love vegetables they won’t suspect they’re lurking in the gravy!)

Serve with a green vegetable or salad and something to sop up the gravy. Mashed potatoes and biscuits are excellent choices.

I am not usually a fan of pork roasts. I’ve only ever had them with my in-laws, and honestly the majority of the roasts I’ve had their have been cooked for an hour or two too long, making excessive quantities of gravy a necessity. But for some reason I bought a pork roast from my pastured meats buying club on a whim. I think I imagined that I’d make pulled pork for sandwiches from it, but after the roast sat in my freezer for a few months and I looked up some recipes I realized that the boneless pork butt roast was too small, I don’t have a smoker, and it’s not the perfect cut of meat anyway. So it was back to Mr. Google for some recipe ideas.

An Epicurious recipe for Garlic-Roasted Pork Shoulder looked sublime, but it called for a bone-in pork shoulder which I just didn’t have. A recipe from Tyler Florence at the Food Network for Roasted Pork Shoulder seemed to be similar, but for some reason it just didn’t look quite right. So I split the difference. I prepared the roast using the method from the Epicurious recipe and cooked it according to the Tyler Florence recipe. It was superb.

The recipe calls for several hours of marination so I let it sit overnight, but popped it in the oven a bit too late the next day. We ended up eating a quick dinner of pasta and veggies while the roast cooked. When I removed it from the oven, the skin was brown and crisp. I was sorry we’d eaten. The following day I sliced the meat and reheated it in a gravy made from pan juices. My in-laws joined us for dinner and the meat was so tender, so flavorful, they assumed they were eating beef, not pork, until I told them otherwise. My father-in-law who claims to hate garlic ate several servings, not even noticing the garlic paste clinging to the meat.

If I get my hands on a bone-in pork roast I’ll be sure to follow the New York Times recipe exactly (and eat the meat immediately), but for boneless, the compromise worked well. This cheap cut of meat makes an incredible meal.

Garlic Roasted Boneless Pork Shoulder
adapted from the two recipes linked above

1 head garlic, cloves peeled
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 3-4 pound boneless pork shoulder with skin

Mash garlic to a paste with 2 tablespoons kosher salt using a mortar and pestle or side of a large heavy knife, then stir in oregano, vinegar, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon pepper.

Pat pork dry. Using a small sharp knife, cut a wide pocket at large end of roast to separate skin from fat, leaving skin attached at sides and stopping before roast narrows to bone.

Make 1-inch-deep slits in pork under skin and on all meaty sides, twisting knife slightly to widen openings, then push some of garlic mixture into slits with your fingers. Rub any remaining garlic mixture over roast (not skin). Wipe skin clean, then rub with remaining teaspoon kosher salt (to help it crisp). Transfer pork to a glass or ceramic shallow dish and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.

Put pork, skin side up, on a rack in a flameproof roasting pan, discarding marinade, and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast the pork for 3 hours, uncovered, until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, pour pan juices through a sieve into a fat separator or bowl and discard fat. Add 3/4 cup water to roasting pan and deglaze by boiling over medium-high heat (straddle 2 burners if necessary), scraping up brown bits, 1 minute, then add to pan juices along with enough water to bring total to 1 1/2 cups. Serve meat with pan juices.

Kidney beans are a great source of protein and fiber. Named for their kidney shape, they are great in chili. Here’s an easy crock pot recipe you can spice as much or as little as you like. This is also a great recipe for sneaking in vegetables. If you have leftover vegetables you can add them whole, finely chop them, or stick them in the food processor for a few pulses. You can do the same with raw veggies. I often add small pieces of carrots, broccoli and green beans. Sweet potatoes and squash are also good additions.

Crock Pot Chili

Serves 6 to 8.

Getting back to a few things from last week, the bread recipe was a disaster. It did not rise. Maybe my yeast was dead? Maybe my kitchen was too cold? Perhaps I just screwed up the very simple recipe somehow? I will try again because I’m a glutton for punishment. I’ll let you know if round two is any better.

As for the Arroz Con Pollo, it was great. I ended up throwing in a ham steak from my freezer instead of the chorizo sausage and it worked out really well. Honestly, I don’t particularly care for ham. I don’t mind most pork products, but ham just tastes kind of gross to me. In this recipe I didn’t mind it, and Sam who’s still not much of a meat eater ate it too.

Arroz Con Pollo

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

The night before last we had Spinach and Ginger Fried Rice along with some leftover Roasted Carrot Soup for dinner so last night I decided we (well, I) needed a little extra protein. Bob never remembered to take chicken out of the freezer in the garage and all we have in the kitchen freezer is ground beef. I know this recipe is completely inauthentic, but rather than make my standby hamburgers, meatloaf, meatballs or sloppy Joes I figured I’d give Shepherd’s Pie a shot. I’ve only ever made and eaten it with vegetarian meat substitutes, never meat, so last night’s attempt was a first. It turned out pretty good and I got it on the table in under an hour.

My Inauthentic Shepherd’s Pie

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground beef or lamb ( you can use turkey or meat substitute, but you’ll probably need to adjust the seasonings)
1 1/2 lbs potatoes, quartered (I used 2 baking potatoes)
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup stock or broth (beef stock preferably, but I used chicken)
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
Couple of handfuls of frozen peas
11 oz can corn, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and mash with butter then milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Cook onion, carrot and celery until softened, about five minutes. Add the meat and cook until browned, stirring frequently to break up the meat, about five to ten minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Stir in the flour and cook about a minute more, Add the stock, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until absorbed, about five minutes.

Spread the meat mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Top with corn and peas. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat and vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are browned.

Despite the fact that I’m still talking about it (I promise, I’m done with the turkey clip art now!), it’s been almost a week since Thanksgiving and it’s time to get rid of the last of the turkey and vegetables. My favorite way to use up the leftovers is in a pot pie. If you’re short on time there are plenty of shortcuts and if you’re feeling gourmet you can jazz it up as much as you want. The basic recipe calls for throwing leftover turkey, carrots, green beans, and whatever veggies you have into a premade pie crust with leftover gravy. You can also use frozen or canned mixed veggies if you don’t have fresh. More advanced recipes use puff pastry or homemade biscuit dough.

I’ll give you the recipe I used last night and offer some links to other leftover pot pie recipes at the end. I didn’t have as much gravy leftover as I usually do and was completely out of chicken stock to make more so I used a can of cream soup. It would have been better without the soup, so use stock to make your own gravy or use leftover gravy if you have it. The soup did make it easier than making stock all over again.

Leftover Pot Pie

*If you’re using a store bought frozen pie crust 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven should be fine. Just bake until bubbly and golden brown.

Cooking with the Single Guy has a recipe that calls for puff pastry. I adore puff pastry and will be sure to try this next time I make a pot pie.

This recipe uses spinach, ham and cream of chicken soup

I know that this recipe is for chicken pot pie, but it calls for a biscuit topping so I thought I’d throw it in for the biscuit lovers.

This recipe uses chicken bouillon and milk instead of a pre-made gravy.

I’ve been trying to clean out my freezer to make room for Thanksgiving and I found a little more than a pound of stew meat from my buying club and a little less than a quarter of a pound of lamb tenderloin butt. I don’t know what to do with lamb tenderloin butt, especially since it’s such a small amount. And it doesn’t help that the fact that it’s called “butt” just makes me giggle like a nine year old boy. I decided I may as well combine the two and make a big pot of beef stew.

Beef stew is pretty easy to prepare, it just takes a long time to cook. If you like to use a slow cooker, you can do the prep either the night before or the morning of, and let it cook all day. I just cook mine on the stove, but I keep telling myself that I’ll use the slow cooker one of these days.

Beef Stew

Ingredients
* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 2 pounds stew meat (you can buy stew meat or buy chuck and cut it into cubes)
* 1 large onion, chopped (I used leeks because I had them)
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced (I don’t peel mine)
* 6 carrots, sliced ( I used two handfuls of baby carrots)
* 2 bay leaves
* 3 stalks celery, sliced (I omitted this because I didn’t have any)
* 3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth (I used 3 cups homemade turkey stock and a can of beer)
Optional
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon cold water

1. In a large pot or dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat. In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated; brown in hot oil, about 1 minute per side. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.
2. Lower heat to medium and add onions. Brown onions on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Add garlic to pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the onions and garlic from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat from pot.
3. To pot add potatoes, carrots, celery, reserved onions, browned meat, bay leaf and broth. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. For a thicker broth: 1/2 hour before stew is done, combine 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl and mix well, then slowly stir mixture into stew.

For the slow cooker

Personally I think it’s worth browning the beef, but if you’re pressed for time you can omit that step. Put the beef in the slow cooker, pour in the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining ingredients and follow the cooking time above.

If you don’t like beef, get yourself into a Thanksgiving frame of mind by trying this crockpot turkey roast recipe.

Yesterdays CSA share brought

2 bags Roma tomatoes (for freezing or canning)
1 bok choy
2 small bunches celery
1 bunch radishes
1 bag arugula
1 bunch leeks

Of course I used none of it for dinner since I still have a ton of veggies leftover from last week.

I was in the mood for comfort food so I made Sloppy Joes and oven fries with a side of steamed green beans. I don’t use a can for Sloppy Joes I make them myself. It just takes a few minutes more than opening a can and the flavor is incomparable. Once you make them from scratch you won’t go back.

Sloppy Joes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion minced (I used a leek because it was older)
1 small hot pepper seeded and minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
1 cup tomato puree (I used 4 seeded, chopped tomatoes)
1/4 cup ketchup
tabasco

Cook the onion and pepper in the oil until the onion is translucent and the pepper’s softened. Add the ground beef, brown sugar, salt and garlic, stirring to break up. When the beef is browned add the tomato puree, ketchup and chili powder. Cook until heated through. Add tabasco, salt and pepper to taste. Serve on hamburger buns with grated cheddar cheese.

Sam still won’t eat beef, but he loves oven fries and green beans and had them with a banana mango soy smoothie for protein.

And forgive me for the public service announcement, but please use humanely raised beef when you cook. Aside from the implications for the animals, it’s just so much safer. There’s been yet another recall for beef tainted with E. coli bacteria, and while the recall is for frozen hamburger patties it’s still pretty sketchy. I know that it’s convenient to buy frozen patties, but it doesn’t take more than a minute to make patties yourself. The farm where I get my meat sells patties as well so safe and convenient aren’t that far removed.

The recall involves Topps burger products. For more information about the tainted patties look here.

Oats are considered health food because of their soluble fiber which is supposed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Oats are not just for breakfast, though a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and nuts is one of the best breakfasts you can eat. You can substitute part of your white flour for oat flour when you bake cookies or muffins. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a still tasty but much healthier alternative to regular chocolate chip cookies. You can sprinkle oat bran on hot or cold cereal, yogurts and smoothies for a fiber boost. If you’re breastfeeding you can even enjoy an Oatmeal stout under the guise of increasing milk production.

One of my favorite ways to use oats is in meatloaf to boost the fiber content.

Meatloaf

One lb ground beef or meatloaf mix
One lb ground turkey (white meat or 7% fat)
Half of a large vidalia onion or one small white onion chopped
one cup rolled oats
1 grated carrot
1 clove minced garlic
2/3 cup ketchup
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Knead with your hands to mix all ingredients- don’t overmix. Bake in a nonstick or well greased loaf pan (free form works if you don’t have one)at 350 in a preheated oven for 60-75 minutes or until meatloaf reaches 160 degrees. Drain fat and let sit for a few minutes before serving (serves 8 )

oats, meatloaf recipe

Just before I got married it occurred to me that we should stop buying the cheap stuff and only eat organic meats. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but it seemed to be a good choice. For a few months I primarily bought organic, but I never fully made the commitment. Honestly, it seemed cost prohibitive, especially after we became a one income household. After a year or so of buying meat and feeling weird about it I stopped cooking meat at home this past February. I continued to eat meat at restaurants and at other people’s houses and I continued to read about why supermarket meat made me uncomfortable. Last week, after finishing Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I made the decision that I’m officially done eating meat if I don’t know where it came from. Specifically, I’m done eating meat that came from a CAFO, a concentrated animal feeding operation also called a factory farm.

I won’t go into detail about what factory farming is, or why it’s horrific. If you’re interested you should click the link for the brief wikipedia article then follow up with The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; they’re good reads and they’re informative without being preachy. I will say that the conditions in factory farms are inhumane, unhealthy for the animals and for the people who eat them, and bad for the environment.

Grass fed, or pastured animals, are an alternative, a safer, more trustworthy alternative to supermarket meat, even the meats with organic labels. The health benefits of eating pastured animals are many. Grass fed animals are eating a natural diet so they don’t need the hormones and antibiotics automatically administered to factory farmed animals. They’re also lower in fat and calories than grain fed animals and contain more Omega 3s than their factory counterparts. The farmers who raise grass fed animals are environmentally friendly by necessity- their animals need to eat healthy grass so they in turn have to make sure the soil and pasture is healthy for them.

Through my CSA I became a member of a buying club that lets me purchase eggs, beef, chicken, pork and lamb through a local farm. The prices per pound are no more expensive than the organic cuts of meat at the supermarket and in some cases are less expensive. Even if some cuts are more expensive, I don’t mind spending the few extra dollars to support local farms that raise animals I feel comfortable cooking for my family.

Though many supermarkets have organic and free-range alternatives available, it’s hard to tell what those labels actually mean. I’d like to know that the meat my family eats lived its life eating the things it should, not eating feed laced with hormones and antibiotics. I want to support local farmers who raise healthy animals in an environmentally conscious manner. It wasn’t an easy or a quick decision for me. But it’s a decision I plan to stick with. I really believe that the eat local movement can change the way Americans look at food and the more we demand fresh, local produce and humanely raised meats the more they’ll be available.

If you’re interested in purchasing meat that comes from animals who spent their lives pastured, not confined, or reading more about the farms near you that pasture their animals, Eat Wild has a state by state pastured product directory and a multi-state listing if you’d like to have products shipped directly to you.

You can also seek out restaurants that buy from local farms. Local Harvest lets you search for restaurants that prepare locally grown foods in addition to CSAs, farm markets and co-ops.

CAFOs, factory farming, eat local, organic meat, grassfed meat, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Eke. Boy am I lucky that Madeline, my local franco-phile is out of town, or I would have caught an earful for leaving Croque Monsieur off of my list from yesterday of ham and cheese sandwich recipes.

So quick, before she notices, I’m adding the Croque Monsieur. If you throw a fried egg on top, you’ve made a Croque Madame - my kids love it for brunch!

Croque Monsieur

4 T butter, divided
1 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
Salt and pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 slices bread
4 slices ham
4 slices cheese (traditionally, it’s Swiss, but you can substitute any kind)

First, make a bechamel sauce. Melt half butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly add milk and cook until sauce reaches low boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until thick and bubbly. Add salt, pepper and mustard, mixing thoroughly.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in skillet. Build sandwich with ham, cheese and bread - add bechamel sauce on top of the cheese before topping with remaining slice of bread. Toast until bread is golden and cheese has melted.

If you’d like, drizzle sauce over the top of the sandwich before serving (I like this, my girls didn’t) - and top with a fried egg to make it a Croque Madame. Bon appetit!

Ham and cheese sandwiches are a staple in my house. All of my children love them - in all variations. Today, I wanted to share a couple of different twists on the ham and cheese sandwich theme, and incorporate some yummy veggies at the same time!

Ham and Cheese Wraps

Sliced ham
Sliced cheese
Broccoli crowns, chopped (cooked or not, your preference)
Flour tortilla

If your kids are into mustard (mine aren’t, except on pretzels), spread mustard over the flour tortilla. Layer the ham and cheese and lightly pile chopped broccoli in the middle. Roll tightly and microwave until the cheese melts, about 30 seconds. Presto, a yummy wrap!

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Ham and Cheese Panini

2 slices bread (I like multigrain)
Cheese (try provolone or fontina)
Sliced ham (or give prosciutto a whirl)
Baby spinach
Olive oil or butter

Panini is Italian, more or less, for sandwich. You can make these sandwiches on a panini grill if you have it (that’s how you get the nifty grill marks) or just use a regular grill or skillet.

Assemble your sandwich with ham, cheese and baby spinach leaves. Brush the sandwich with olive oil or rub with butter. Grill your sandwich until the outsides are toasted and the cheese has melted. Buon appetito!

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Mediterranean Ham and Cheese

4 slices bread (the heartier, the better - this is a substantial sandwich!)
Sliced ham
Sliced cheese (mild is best, like mozzarella or provolone)
Roasted Red Peppers
Black Olives, chopped
Artichoke hearts, quartered
Baby spinach
Few mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute mushrooms until tender, put aside.

Assemble sandwich by layering ham and cheese on a slice of bread. Top with red peppers, olives, artichoke hearts, spinach and sauteed mushrooms. Press bread slice on top. Brush tops of bread with olive oil and wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until bread is toasted and cheese has melted.

What kid doesn’t like ham with pineapple? This dish is especially festive looking with the addition of cherries and is often served at Christmas and Easter.

Baked Ham with Pineapple

1 FULLY COOKED smoked picnic shoulder ham, about 5 pounds
1 can (15 oz) pineapple slices in juice
1/4 c light brown sugar, packed
1/4 c honey
few Maraschino cherries (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ham on a rack in a baking pan, fat side up. Cover loosely with foil; bake for about 2-1/2 hours (or 30 minutes a pound) until internal temperature registers 140 degrees on meat thermometer.

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 c of juice. Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, and honey in a saucepan; cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Using a brush, baste ham with about half of the mixture (*). Arrange pineapple slices and cherries on ham. Glaze again. Bake for additional 30 minutes at 325°, basting occasionally.

(*) If you want to skip the honey and brown sugar, many recipes in the South substitute a can of cola.

Ham can be found in a number of types of soups - especially bean soups - since it adds so much flavor.

One of my favorites is ham and bean soup. It’s easy to make and inexpensive. Give it a try!

Ham and Bean Soup

1 lb. Great Northern white beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. butter
1 ham hock or if you can’t find decent ham hocks, used diced ham
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse beans and pick out any stragglers (you know, dark or withered beans). Soak in water for at least 4 hours or overnight to soften beans - be sure and check the water level from time to time and add more water if necessary. Rinse thoroughly.

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in large Dutch oven and add beans and ham. Meanwhile, saute onion in melted butter. Remove onion from saucepan with slotted spoon and add to beans and ham. Reduce heat under soup mixture and simmer for approximately 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

ham, beans, soup