Sissy and Bob's Senate Bean Soup

One, misty, moisty, morning when cloudy was the weather.. well no actually Sissy was in for Christmas this past year and she brought in tow with her a ham bone and a recipe for Senate Bean Soup. Apparently she had it at a restaurant while on vacation, and wanted to have it again. I guessed that her having the ham bone and recipe in hand from the restaurant was my hint to get into the kitchen. Well, I did not tell Sissy this at first, i looked at the recipe and said... I can do better!!! (Muhahahahaaa) So I went about doing some quick research on Senate Bean Soup, thought it through and came up with this recipe that was REALLY, very nice! You can soak the beans overnight or use the quick soak method listed below.

Quick Soak Method

For One (32 ounce/2 pound) Bag of Great Northern Beans:

Use 3 cups of water per 1 cup of dried beans ( so for one bag it would be 12 cups of water)
Bring water to a boil add beans, cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and a lid for 1 hour, drain afterwards.

Senate Bean Soup

1 Bay Leaf

4 whole Cloves

3 cloves of Garlic, finely minced

1 large ham bone with meat on it

1/2 stick of butter (salted or unsalted)

1 onion finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, rough chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 Potato Peeled and Finely Chopped

In a soup pot melt the butter, saute onion until soft and tender, ad garlic and saute for about 1 minute, being careful not to brown or burn. Add pepper, bay leaf, 3 cloves, the beans along with the ham bone and 12 cups of water. (Water should cover the beans plus be an inch or 2 over them. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

After 1 hour add the other vegetables, cover and simmer for 40 more minutes. Then take out 2 cups of the soup with a lot of beans and liquid (no meat, veggies are okay) Puree in a blender or food processor and add back to the soup. Remove the bone from the soup, take the meat off the bone, chop up that ham into bite sized chunks and return the meat to the pot, discard the bone. Simmer the soup UNCOVERED for 10-20 minutes until it thickens.

**Add extra water during the cooking process if need be. Also, if I have chicken or ham stock laying around, I add that in place of the water, but i would do no more than 6 cups of stock total.

Kidney Bean Salad

I remember my mother going on a quest for this recipe. When my mom had it in her head that she wanted a specific recipe for something or finding out how something was done in a recipe a certain way, there was no holding her back. I think the one thing we could not figure out was whether or not you had to drain the kidney beans. I remember her emailing people and talking to people about finding the "correct" recipe for this... and in my mother's eyes... this is it:

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

1 stem of Celery, chopped fine

2 tsp. finely chopped onion

1 T. sweet relish

1 tsp. vinegar

2 T. Mayo

Mix, refrigerate, serve.

7 Layer Salad

This recipe comes from the kitchen of my Aunt Marilyn. This salad has always been a big hit at every family gathering, as I am sure it will be at yours!


Lettuce (cut into bite sized pieces)

Red onion, sliced thin

4- to 6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas (thawed and drained)

1 pound bacon, fried and chopped

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

1 cup Mayonnaise

Place lettuce in the bottom of the bowl. Then eggs, then onions, peas. bacon. mayo and top with cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Of course if you can do this in a glass bowl, all the better.. it looks really pretty when its done.

Vermicelli Salad

Oh sweet yummy pasta salad of my youth! It has been too long since I have had an opportunity to make this, but its so good, even the next day. I could eat this all by itself as a meal! But, its perfect with Mom's Grilled Italian Chicken. I know she got this recipe from a co-worker at the hospital. One time she was sick before we had to go to a party and she asked me to take over to make it. Ever since then I was in charge!

1 box Vermicelli, cooked to al dente, and cooled

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced

2 diced tomatoes, seeds removed

2 green peppers, diced

1 bunch of green onions cut up

1 large bottle, Wishbone Italian Dressing

1/2 bottle of Salad Supreme

simple.. you mix all the ingredients together, cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled. How easy is that?

Mom's Creamed Cucumbers

Another dish I did not appreciate until closer to being an adult. This recipe goes as far back as I can remember and then some. If you want a more creamier cucumber recipe, I will be posting one that involves yogurt, that is just as nice! A good, old time salad recipe that is just as good today as it was 20 years ago!

3 large cucumbers

1 large onion, sliced

3/4 cup sour cream

1 T. Vinegar

1 tsp Milk (to thin, if needed)

1T. Salt

a pinch to 1 T. of sugar (to taste)

Rinse cucumbers off, cut ends off, and cut into slices. slice the onion. Place cucumbers and onion in bowl, add the salt, put ice cubes and water over the cucumber/onion mixture to cover, let sit for a couple of hours, then drain. Add sour cream vinegar and a pinch of sugar, mix, if thick add milk. add drained cucumbers to mixture, taste and adjust seasonings, cover and refrigerate.

Grandma Otten's Chutney Tomatoes

Again, this really is not a salad, its not a soup, but, its a great condiment and can be used in a variety of ways! This is a pickling and canning project, so role up your sleeves and be careful!

Peel and scald 10 pounds of tomatoes

Rough chop the tomatoes*(?)

Take off about 1 quart of juice

3 sweet red peppers

3 green peppers

1 stalk of celery with leaves

4-5 mild onions

Finely chop or grind all veggies and add to the tomatoes.

Add 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of white sugar.

Add salt to your own taste.

Put in a pickling spice bag with pickling spices in it, bag should be about the size of a walnut. Add some Cinnamon some cloves, a bay leaf.. cook for one hour.

Sterilize Jars, rims and lids. Pour hot liquid into jars, wipe rims.

Water bath- bring water to a boil, just enough to cover the jars. bring back to a boil.. simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Take jars out and place on clean, dry towel away from draft. Jars will start to pop, it means they are sealed. If not sealed, place in refrigerator. if sealed, store on a pantry shelf. Do not tighten the jar ring, real , real tight. Grandma did not give proportions for spice ball.. tie in cheese cloth with string.

Summer Salad

This salad made by my Grandma Otten is readily devoured, especially if served with fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. Even having it with a nice BBQ/Grill item is good!

2 Green peppers

2 Tomatoes

2 cucumbers

2 onions

Cut these up for the salad. Sprinkle with Season Salt.

1/8 cup of Oil

1/8 cup of Vinegar

(look at your 1/4 cup, fill it half way with oil then vinegar, whisk together) Pour dressing over veggies, cover and refrigerate. I would let this refrigerate at least 1-2 hours minimum. No more than 4 hours for the initial serving. Or, if your like me, this salad the next day, even though the vegetables are beyond their prime , is even more good. Doing this in summer with vegetables right out of your garden is the best!