Category: Creole

Sunday Crock Pot 15 Bean Stew

7/7/2013

1 Comment

If you love beans, Hambeens
soup is the way to go!

Vegetables are chopped!

Add the carrots, onions, and celery to the broth.

Added the chicken and let it crock!

This is what you call a man's soup!

If you have a man in the house, chances are he loves beans. Any way you cook them, he goes crazy. And, we're on quite the chicken kick in my house too, so what could be better than a chicken and bean stew? This bean stew has 15 kinds of beans: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Blackeye, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split, Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Small Red, Yellow Split, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, and Black Beans!!! Can you say Bean Overload?? This soup is every man's dream.

Here's what you will need:
Hurst Hambeens 15 bean soup
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts.
A bunch of celery
A bag of baby carrots
A bunch of green or white onions
Cajun Seasoning
Cayenne Pepper (optional)
Two boxes or large cans of chicken stock (Or substitute in about 5-7 chicken bullion cubes).

First, rinse and separate the beans to make sure there aren't any rocks or anything "extra" in your beans. If you don't have Hurst Hambeens 15 bean soup, you can use any kind of beans. Put the beans and the chicken stock in the crock pot. If you don't have chicken stock, you can use chicken bullion cubes and water. The crock pot should be filled up about halfway.

Next, spice the stew. I usually add a few Tbsp. of Cajun seasoning and 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper. If you don't like your stew spicy, do not add the cayenne pepper!!!!

Then, cube the chicken pieces and add them to the stew. Chop the carrots in half and add them to the stew, then cut the celery into 1/2 inch thick pieces
and add them too. Chop the green onions the same way and add these to the very top.

Since beans expand, make sure there is at least an inch of room at the top of the crock pot so it won't overflow. If you like your stew salty, add a little salt too! Sometimes, I even put a sprinkle of pepper on top too!

One great thing about this stew is that really anything tastes good in it and you can easily customize it to fit your tastes. I've added potatoes before, and random veggies I had in the garden or leftover from other recipes. One thing I like to do to add a little "surprise" is to mince up a few jalapenos and throw them in there.

Cook on high for about 5-6 hours. If it's done, the biggest white beans should be soft. Stir when it's done to mix everything up! This yields about 15 bowls of soup.

Happy Cooking!
Love, Farm Diva

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Steak!

7/4/2013

2 Comments

Here is what the steak should look like after it's seasoned.

Steaming the Asparagus.

If you love steak as much as we do, you probably eat it a lot. And why not? It's a fast, easy supper! You can make a steak dinner in 30 minutes!!! Now, I don't know about you, but I love to grill. I had a charcoal grill (which is fabulous if you have the time), and now I have a gas grill because it's so much faster!!!

Directions:
Allow the steak to thaw to room temperature (takes about 30 minutes out of the fridge.) Fire up the grill and let it get hot while you season the steaks. If you have a gas grill, you should most likely turn it on low to medium. If it's charcoal, make sure the flame isn't too close to the steak.

Season the steak. I usually get a pan to put the steaks in if I don't marinate them over night. I pour some Dale's or Worcestershire sauce in the bottom of the pan and flip the steaks around in it a few times. Then I sprinkle a little Cavendar's (salt and pepper or Creole works too!) and Ground Cumin on each side.
Add the steak on the grill. Usually, if you cook the meat 4-8 minutes on each side, you will get the perfect steak. If you're not sure if it's done, use a knife to cut it open to see. Don't keep flipping the steak, or it loses the juiciness.

For this fast easy meal, I picked corn and asparagus from the garden to cook. Add the corn into a pot of boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with butter, salt, pepper.

For this asparagus, I cut off the ends of the asparagus and cut the rest into 3 sections. Put them in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes then steam them for an additional 10 minutes. Garnished with salt, pepper, butter, and a little garlic.

Voila! A fast easy yummy dinner for your family!!!

Happy Cooking!!!
Love, Farm Diva

2 Comments