Cooler weather spells S-O-U-P

First of all, the weather is so much more like Fall now. Sweaters and jackets are a must......unless you are having hot flashes and then maybe not.

I'm thinking ahead,which is dangerous for me, as I might change my mind.......anywho, I thought that 15 Bean Soup would be perfect for tomorrow's dinner. And if you've ever cooked from dried beans or peas, then you have to start a day ahead as they soak overnight, or at least 8 hours first.

Before I get started, I will add Gas-X to my Walmart shopping list..........LOL They should just package that with a bag of dried beans!

Note: this is not an endorsement to buy or sell Gas X. Thank you.


But, here's the bag of beans........and I"m going to use half, because if you use the whole bag it makes 16 servings. And that would be alot of leftover soup...........and gas. However, you could use all and then freeze up some for days when you just didn't want to cook.

So, I pour half the bag in a bowl. I think they are pretty. So many different colors and shapes! Then fill the bowl with water.

Then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 8 hours. They will swell alot.

Don't know why some float and some don't but anyways, this will look a lot different by tonight at bedtime when I put this and other ingredients in my slow cooker.

You then make sure you have a 15 ounce can of stewed tomatoes and 1 whole medium onion, and chili powder, a clove of Garlic and lemon juice.

If not, add that to the Walmart list along with your Gas-X.....LOL

I will also add a ham hock on my list of things because this will be added when in the slow cooker over night. I know that just canceled out the low fat feature of beans but it makes it taste soooooooo much better......and I"m a Southern girl too, so gotta add that ham hock.

Stay tuned for more pics later of how it's turning out.........

Cornbread and soup, there's nothing like it in the Fall.

On the stitchy side of things, I've almost finished the last block of Heart of America before putting the long block underneath at the bottom of the piece.
I've enjoyed stitching it. I will post a pic tonight. However, I will have to admit that I feel like there' s something spooky (kinda like Halloween) while I've stitched the whole thing.

While I worked on the Peace block, that whole week was wrapped around news of Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

And this morning while I'm stitching the "old Glory" part, and especially, right when I finished the flag design, the news of a man getting in trouble in Pennsylvania for putting an American flag sticker on his locker was astounding. Kinda eerie........

All in all, I'm enjoying my Sunday stitching and cooking while Body Guard is busy working on the inside of his workshop and putting hay in the outside doghouse. They love to sleep in it in the winter and this is their first bale of the season today.

Till later,

Jennifer