Bean Soup

Hello again and welcome to this Friday in Autumn.  I just love a cool crisp day in the fall, one that dawns with so much possibility and excitement, one that seems to say "christmas is coming, christmas is coming..."  I love that.  The best thing one could possibly do on a cold day like today is to take ten to fifteen minutes in the morning to make a pot of soup for dinner.  This not only is a gift to your family but to yourself as well; one that gives all throughout the day.  First of all dinner will roll around and you will be hungry, instead of dragging yourself into the kitchen and making a huge mess all the while snacking so that your not actually hungry when you sit down for dinner, it will be ready for you with minimal mess; just bowls and spoons.  Second your entire house will start to smell amazing and this wonderful aroma will continue the entire day.  Is there anything better then coming in from outside, your cheeks rosy with cold, to the delicious smell of a hearty soup just simmering away?  Third it will sound good all day, now stick with me on this one.  If you use a crock pot (which is what I suggest for worry free all day cooking) after a couple of hours the steam and heat will cause the lid to rattle, just slightly as if to remind you that there is something wonderful and secret going on in the kitchen.  Now I recomend cooking a batch of refridgerator biscuits (which far as I can tell taste better then homemade and can be bought on sale quite frequently) and serving those with honey along side your soup and you have got yourself a healthful, tasty, and satisfying dinner to say the least.

Today's dinner will be particularly satisfying because my Grammy and Papa are coming for dinner.  They are amazing, I mean amazing!! Papa is so wise and funny Grammy is loving and kind and sweet and together they are just about perfect.  My Grammy and I have been special friends practically since I was born.  They are among my biggest blessings and I cherish all the time I get to spend with them.  Plus they love my boys and isn't it great to be around people who genuinely love your children?

This is my recipe for Bean Soup, which is what I'm having today:
Mix together in a crock pot
1 Jar of Randal's white Beans
1 package of chopped ham (very cheap and can be bought near the lunch meat)
.5 Cup of Brown Sugar
A bunch of chopped celery (leaves included)
1 onion chopped
1-2 Cups (to your desired consistency) of chicken stock (which is way way better then chicken broth and  the left overs can be stored in it's box-container for at least a week)
salt and pepper
Let cook all day and enjoy!!