This is a very tasty, hearty soup that reminds me of Campbell's Bean with Bacon. It's great served with corn bread and a salad. 

Ingredients:

1 lb of dried white beans
6-8 cups of water
1 tsp olive oil
1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ham hock, extra fat remove from the outside of the hock
6 cups of chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

Overnight Soak: Rinse and sort the beans. Add 6-8 cups of cold water to 1 pound of dried beans. Let stand overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans. Side Note: If you don't have time to do an overnight soak, try the quick soak method: Rinse and sort the beans. Add 6-8 cups of water to 1 pound of dried beans. Bring water to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, & celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds before adding stock, drained white beans, ham hock, bay leaf, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for at least 3 1/2-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Slowly break up the ham from the bone a little every time you stir the soup then remove any fat or bone from the ham hock along the way.

Remove the lid from the pan for 30 minutes prior to serving, making sure all fat and bone have been remove from the soup. Taste and re-season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Remove the bay leaf and ladle into bowls.

Recipe Source - For the Love of Cooking
Merry Christmas! I hope you have all enjoyed my 25 days of sweet treats and good eats. I've enjoyed sharing some of my favorite holiday recipes with you. Today is the final day of sharing, so I'm ending with my family's favorite sweet treat of all time. If you know my family at all, you will not be surprised that today's recipe is for my Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookies. These are the perfect chocolate chip cookie - not too cakey, not too crunchy, and perfectly chewy. I made a batch for my neighbors for Christmas, and for my boys. Bake up a batch for your family to share on this wonderful Christmas Day!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies




It's Christmas Eve! I woke up this morning to freezing cold temperatures (it was only 10 degrees), and decided that today I needed to make a warm breakfast treat for me and Corey. Today's good eat is a yummy breakfast bread that you can quickly make for your family on a holiday morning. Serve it with a cup a hot cocoa and treat your loved ones to a tasty treat this Christmas Eve morning.

Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Bread





This is a tasty loaf to make for breakfast or brunch.



Ingredients:
1/2 pound of turkey sausage
1/4 cup diced onion (can substitute 1/2 t onion powder if you don't like onion)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon hot sauce or 1/4 t ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 tsp all purpose seasoning (such as Mrs. Dash)
2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup mayo (I used Miracle Whip Light because it's what I had on hand)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute sausage and onions over a medium high heat until sausage is browned. Set side.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, milk, mayo cheeses, hot sauce, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash (or any all purpose seasoning) and onion powder if you didn't use real onion. Mix well (can use mixer).
  3. Next slowly mix in Bisquick. Mix well.
  4. Now add in sausage & onions. Mix until just blended.
  5. Coat a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 35-45  minutes until done.
  6. Let rest in pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Recipe modified from Family Fresh Meals
Day 23! How can that be? It's almost Christmas! Woo hoo! I'm getting down to the end of my 25 days of sweet treats and good eats. Today I'm sharing one of my very favorite sweet treats - Best Ever Blondies. These are so yummy and chewy and very easy to make. Whip up a batch this afternoon for your loved ones.They will definitely love you for it. ;)

Best Ever Blondies



On this second official day of winter, it truly feels cold outside! It's 28 degrees and it even snowed again this morning. To help fight of the cold, today I'm sharing a "good eat" with you at the request of my son. This is his all-time favorite soup, and he's been asking me to make it since he got home from college for break. So, I guess I better get on that one! :) Make a batch of this hearty soup to share with your family this holiday weekend.

Sausage Potato Soup



Today's sweet treat is a fun breakfast treat that you could make for Christmas morning. Any recipe with "monkey" in the title has to be fun, right? And even though we often associate pumpkin recipes with fall, I think it lends itself very well right into the Christmas holiday season. Make some for your little monkeys to enjoy on Christmas morning. :)

Pumpkin Monkey Bread