New Year's Day 15 Bean Soup

This is suppose to bring you good luck for the year if you eat it on New Year's day. But it is good all year round, in the scorching sun or in a stormy blizzard.

You can make this bean soup in a good crockpot or if you desire or you can cook them on the stove-top.

Ingredients

(1 lb) bag of 15 bean soup mix
1 large red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-30 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 c chopped ham or a 1 lb ham hock with hambones
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tsp dill
1 tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil
4 c chicken stock
5 cups water

Cooking this 15 Bean Soupe Recipe.

Before you do any cooking you want to make sure that you have soaked your beans.

Now, If you want you can add thing's to this soup like carrots or potatoes to make your own mixed bean soup.

1. Put the beans in a large pot and add 4 cups of water.

Simmer on medium high heat for 45 minutes. Stir Occasionally. Skim the top with a spoon to remove the foam once in awhile.

If at anytime the water gets too low add another cup of water. A pressure cooker can drastically reduce the cooking time of the beans. Make sure you get a good one though and not a piece of junk.

I like the Cuisinart 6-qt. Pressure Cooker for quite a few different reasons. One being that its more affordable and another would be the 3 year warranty.
The reason we cook the beans in the water first is because salt and acids can cause the beans to take MUCH longer to cook.

2. Put 1 cup of water and 4 cups of broth in another large pot or stock pot, add 2 cups chopped ham or a 1 lb ham hock that has the bone ( if you don't have any ham you can use a pound of bacon for your soup ) and simmer on medium high heat for 30 minutes.

3. In a large frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat it up on medium heat.

4. While the oil is heating up put 2 celery stalks, 1 red onion, 1/4 cup fresh parsley and 3 garlic cloves in a food processor and chop them up.Don't Puree it!

5. Then add the mix to the frying pan and add 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dill, and 1 teaspoon dried thyme and fry it up for 4 minutes. Stirring Occasionally.

6. Now add the contents of the frying pan and the can of tomatoes to the pot with the ham and broth in it, stir it well and continue simmering.

7. After simmering the ham and broth for 30 minutes pour it into the pot with the beans. If your using a ham hock remove the ham hock and pick the pieces of ham off that you want to add to the soup discarding the fatty pieces , add what you want to keep into the beans and then add the broth to the beans and simmer for 30 minutes.

Overnight Tex-Mex Egg Bake for Christmas Morning

If you want to help your mom, ask her if you can mix this up on Christmas Eve Day , put in fridge and bake on Christmas morning. Or you can bake right away. Yummy and so easy.

Spice up your breakfast menus by serving an egg casserole featuring spicy sausage, green chiles and salsa.

Prep Time 20 Minutes Total Time 9:25 Hrs:Mins Makes 10 servings

12 oz bulk spicy pork sausage

5 cups frozen southern-style hash brown potatoes (from 32-oz bag)

1 can (4.5 ounces) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained

3 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (12 oz)

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa

1. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Drain on paper towel.

2. Spread frozen potatoes in baking dish. Sprinkle with sausage, green chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. In medium bowl, beat eggs, milk and salt with fork or wire whisk until well blended. Pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 12 hours.

3. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve with salsa.

Substitution:If you can’t find a 12-ounce package of pork sausage, you can use a 16-ounce package.

Time-Saver: No need to wait! You can bake this dish right away if you like.

Serve-With :Warm corn bread with honey butter and a fruit salad of orange, grapefruit and mango pieces give your brunch a southwestern flair.

Did You Know? Cubed hash brown potatoes are called “southern-style,” and shredded potatoes are called “country-style.” Either one can be used in casseroles like this.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving (1 Serving)Calories 350(Calories from Fat 180),Total Fat 20g(Saturated Fat 10g,Trans Fat 0g),Cholesterol 175mg;Sodium 1120mg;Total Carbohydrate 25g(Dietary Fiber 3g,Sugars 5g),Protein 19g;Percent Daily Value*:Calcium ;Exchanges:1 1/2 Starch;0 Fruit;0 Other Carbohydrate;0 Skim Milk;0 Low-Fat Milk;0 Milk;0 Vegetable;0 Very Lean Meat;0 Lean Meat;2 High-Fat Meat;1 Fat;Carbohydrate Choices:1 1/2;*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Christmas Recipes for Friends and Family

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Balls

from Suzie Romans

1 (18 ounce size) jar of peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

In a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine all other ingredients. Blend well until mixture forms adough. Roll into 1-inch balls. Using a toothpick or fork, dip the balls into the chocolate until well coated. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Sandra Lee's Peppermint Bars

From the Kitchen of Sandra Lee

Servings: Over 8 Difficulty: Easy

Cook Time: 30-60 min

If you're short on time but still want to make the perfect holiday treat try these delicious semi-homemade bars.

Ingredients

1 (16.5-ounce) package refrigerated ready-to-bake, sugar cookie
dough, Pillsbury®
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup white chocolate morsels, Nestlé®
1/3 cup crushed hard peppermint candies

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing foil to extend over sides of pan.Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Using your hands, press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately sprinkle with marshmallows and morsels. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes longer, or until marshmallows are puffed. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Cool completely in pan (about 1 hour).

To serve, lift foil to remove uncut bars from pan. Place on a cutting board. Fill a pitcher with hot water.Place a long, sharp knife in pitcher. Using warm knife, cut into 9 large squares.

Lauren Brennan's Brownie

Cheesecake Peppermint Bars

From the Kitchen of Lauren Brennan

Servings: Over 8 Difficulty: Easy Cook Time: 30-60 min

Check out Lauren Brennan's dreamy peppermint bar. This tasty dessert is as easy to make as it is enjoyable to eat.

Ingredients

1 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 family-sized box brownie mix
2 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
2 teaspoons peppermint extract, divided
4 candy canes, crushed

Directions

Make brownie batter according to package directions, but add 1
teaspoon of peppermint extract.
Bake according to package directions and set aside to cool.

Spray a 9-by-13'' rectangular pan with non-stick cooking spray
and spread cookie dough along the bottom, creating an even layer. Bake cookie dough according to package directions, until edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Once brownies have cooled, remove any hard edges and discard (or
eat!). Scrape the rest of the baked brownies into a large bowl.
Combine brownies with cream cheese to create a thick mixture that is generally uniform in color. Scoop this mixture onto the baked and cooled cookie dough. Smooth the top.

Over a double boiler, melt white chocolate. Gently stir in 1
teaspoon of peppermint extract. Spread melted chocolate over the
cookie-brownie mixture, sprinkle with candy canes and let cool.
Once chocolate has hardened, cut into bars and enjoy!

Answer to our question about Laban and the Brass plates from our lesson!

We do not know why Laban had the brass plates. 1 Nephi 4:22 states: "And he [Zoram] spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them" and in verses 26 and 27 Zoram again refers to the "elders of the Jews" and the "brethren of the church" in relation to Laban. Due to these verses it is believed that Laban was some sort of Jewish official who had some type of religious or political role in Jerusalem. Perhaps he was a descendant of those who had written and preserved the brass plates or perhaps he was designated by his "brethren" to keep the plates. We do not really know.

Sincerely,

Jenny St. Clair
Reference Librarian
Church History Library