Mimi’s Costco Bean Soup

Dear Readers,

While on a recent shopping trip to Costco, I discovered and purchased a 5.5 pound container of “Gourmet Bean Blend” distributed by Epicurean Specialty, which is “a colorful variety of beans, peans and lentils”.  There’s a recipe for a Vegetarian Gourmet Bean Blend Chili printed on the package, but I was in the mood for bean soup and here is what I concocted.

Mimi’s Costco Bean Soup

3 cups Epicurean Specialty Gourmet Bean Blend

2 – 32 oz. containers Kirkland Signature chicken stock

2 or 3 cups cubed ham

1 – 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 cup chopped celery

Soak 3 cups of beans overnight in cold water as directed on the package.  Next day, drain and rinse beans and put in a large soup pot.  Add remaining ingredients along with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring mixture to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer.  Cover soup pot and continued to cook for two hours or until beans are tender.

This soup just begs to be served with warm, buttered cornbread.  Any mix will do but Trader Joe’s has a really good cornbread mix that easy to prepare.

My husband loved the soup and so did I.

Enjoy and

Keep smilin’!

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Lessons Learned From Illness

Dear Readers,

For the past three weeks I have been very sick.  What started out as a common cold escalated into acute bronchitis and then a sinus infection and fluid in my left ear.  I am starting my third round of a different antibiotic and prednisone pills to help drain my ear.  Hopefully after this series of pills, I will feel like myself again.

Needless to say I have learned quite a few life lessons from this illness.  Permit me to share them with you.

1.  It’s okay if a kitchen counter resembles a mini-pharmacy with antibiotic pills, cough medicine, decongesant, and cough drops lined up in a row.

2.  A house can stay uncleaned for one month and not look that bad.

3.  Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup taste like gourmet food when you’re under the weather.

4.  Bronchitis is not the best way to lose four pounds in 10 days.

5.  Mind over matter does not work when you are very sick.  If the body says no, it means no.

6.  Taking a shower and washing your hair consumes a lot of energy when you are weak.

7.  Friends are like angels when they shop for groceries and deliver them to your door with a heart-warming smile.

8.  I will definitely have more empathy and understanding for people who are sick.

9.  I hope I never take my good health for granted again.  It’s a gift from God that no amount of money can purchase!

Stay healthy and

Keep smilin’!

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