Yield: 8 Servings
| Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1½ cup | Bean mixture (see instructions) |
| 1 teaspoon | Salt |
| 2 quarts | Water |
| 1 \N | Ham bone; -or- |
| 1 pounds | Of ham; diced |
| 1 can | (10-oz) Ro-tel tomatoes |
| 1 large | Onion; diced |
| 1 \N | Clove garlic; minced |
| 1 \N | Lemon; juice of |
| 1 \N | Long red or green chili pepper; or Cayenne pepper to taste (up to) |
| 1 pounds | Sliced Polish sausage; cooked and drained (optional) |
Wash bean mixture. Cover with water, add salt and soak overnight, or bring to a boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat, and soak 1 hour. Drain. Place beans in water, add ham bone or ham and simmer for 3 hours. Add Ro-Tel, onion, garlic, lemon juice, red or green chili pepper, and simmer for 2 hours. If using sausage, add and simmer for 1 more hour. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Bean Mixture: The base mixture for this soup is 8 assorted packages of dried peas and beans. For example: lentils, split peas, baby limas, black beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, navy beans and barley.
Suggestion: 1-½ cup amounts can be packaged in a plastic bag and tied with a plaid ribbon with recipe enclosed for a Christmas remembrance.
SUSAN DIFFEY JOHNSON
From <Traditions:ATasteoftheGoodLife>, by the Little Rock (AR) Junior League. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .