happy holidays! we had a lovely christmas break over here. i can't believe how quickly it came and went. on christmas eve we invited some friends over and had a relaxing dinner. artichoke dip, honey roasted ham, beer cheese soup, along with plenty of christmas cookies and a giant present shaped cake that our friends so thoughtfully made for us. after opening up our christmas jammies and watching christmas movies, we tucked the kids into bed and popped a bottle of champagne for santa duty.
the next morning the kids were up by 6:30 and rushing down the stairs to see if santa had come. good news... he did. i made a delicious soup inspired by the big kids grandmother. she makes a ham and bean soup with the leftover ham from the night before. i made a few changes, but it was easy and delicious. this is what i did...
you will need:
1lb white beans
3 quarts chicken broth
the ham hock or shank
2 1/2 teaspoons herbs de provence
1 small diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 diced carrot
2 cloves garlic diced
tabasco or cholula hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley or fresh chopped onion as a garnish
in a medium sized pot, cover beans with water. bring to a boil and then turn heat off. let beans soak for 2-2.5 hours.
meanwhile put the ham hock/shank in another large pot, cover with 2 quarts chicken broth. add herbs de provence. bring to a slow boil and then simmer for one hour. add vegetables, beans and half a quart of chicken broth. cook for another hour and a half adding more broth as needed. afterwards the meat should pull away from the bone easily. discard bones. add hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. enjoy! it's really good.
i hope you are all enjoying the holidays. we need to take down our christmas tree and decorations which is always a little bit sad. i can't believe the year is almost over. i am excited though, my new blog site will be launching in just a few days. i will no longer be using typepad. may this little space rest in peace. i will keep you posted on the change.
have a good weekend. i will be back on monday! xx