Holiday Bean Soup Mix

1 pound dried black beans
1 pound dried red beans
1 pound dried kidney beans
1 pound dried navy beans
1 pound dried great northern beans
1 pound dried baby lima beans
1 pound dried large lima beans
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 pound dried green split peas
1 pound dried yellow split peas
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1 pound dried green lentils
1 pound dried brown lentils

Combine beans in a very large bowl. Pour two cups of bean mix into pretty jars (16-oz.) jars holds two cups of bean mix.

Give with the following recipe for holiday bean soup.

Instead of mixing the beans together, you can layer the beans. Very pretty! Just use about 1/8 cup of each bean until you fill the container.

Attach these instructions to the container:

Holiday Bean Soup Mix

Bean Mix from jar
1 smoked ham hock
2 cans (14.5 oz each ) stewed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
6 cups water
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin seed

Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain beans and place in a stockpot. Add ham hock, tomatoes, onion, garlic, bay leaf and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve warm. Makes 11 cups of soup.

******************

This recipe may be freely distributed with the following information:

Leslie Sausage lives with her husband in rural Texas. She is the mom of four grown children, a freelance writer, and has a degree in business administration. You are invited to visit her online for more creative, practical and fun ideas -- http://heart4home.net.