Ham 'n' Beans & Simple Dessert

A friend on FB has reminded me that maybe there are a few out there that don't know how to make tasty Ham and Beans. I know this won't be news to some but I thought I would put it out there in case there is anyone that could use the recipe.

HAM and BEANS

The night before:

1 package of raw Great Northern or Navy Beans [1 lb. pkg]

Place the beans in a Dutch Oven or Stock Pot and cover with cold water, put the lid on and let soak overnight. There is a quick way by boiling them for a couple of minutes but I'm not nuts about it. Read the package if you have a doubt.

Next day:

• 2 Smoked Ham Hocks [look for meaty ones]
• 1 Slice of Cooks or Fricks Ham sliced in bite size pieces [set aside]
• 1 large white onion, cut in half

Drain and rinse the beans. They will have gotten chubby during the night. Place the Ham Hocks in the pot and pour the Beans back in too. Add the Onion halves and cover with water.

Unless you want Ham and Bean Soup don't put too much water in there, just enough to cover.
Bring to a good simmer and then turn heat down, replace the lid and let them cook slowly for a few hours. Stir them every so often in case they stick but I don't think they will. Mine don't. After a couple of hours take the lid off and leave it off.

Now comes the QC test.[quality control] Taste it and see if it needs salt and I know it will need pepper. The beans should be done and now is the time to lift out the Ham Hocks. They will be hot as a fleet but set them aside and put in the cubed Ham to let it get warmed through.

The Ham Hocks have a lot of good meat on them and you can slowly remove it and put it in the pot too. [or just eat it right there, who will know?] Once the Ham is warmed through turn off the heat, cover and let it sit on the stove while you make some Corn Bread and a Lettuce Salad. [Balanced meal] These Beans will thicken as they cool or not. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. They are really good either way.


SIMPLE DESSERT

• 2 Sticks of Butter, room temp. or put them in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
•  [No oleo, it's really plastic]
• 1/2  Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 2 1/4 C Flour [not self rising]
• 1/4 tsp. Salt

Dump all the above ingredients in your mixer and beat like mad until it is crumbly. Spray a 13X9 pan [I use glass] and press half of the crumble in the bottom of the pan. Just so it covers the bottom. Save out about 2 cups if you can.

Open a small container of Jam. Raspberry, Grape, Strawberry, whatever you have. Heat it on the stove just until it's smooth. Pour it over the bottom crust and spread it out well, Then top with the rest of the crumble topping.

Bake at 350 about 35, 40 minutes until it's brown. Let cool and slice into bars. They aren't thick but they are good. My sister bought the wrong kind of Cherries for a Cherri Pie and so we had these delicious Black Cherries from Oregon. I took one can and pureed it in the Food Processor and added 1 T. Corn Starch 1/4 C Sugar and a little Cinnamon [taste it] and cooked it till it was thick. I spooned it over the crust and topped it. I made this in just a few minutes. It was really good and easy. 

Hope you enjoy the Ham and Beans and this simple dessert.