That damn dog...

So we got a 2 presents from Morgan and Jason. Just a little something. After we got to tree put up, I decided to put the presents under it so it would look less sad. I put them under the tree Sunday night. They remained there all through the night, the next day, and onto the next evening. While I was taking my shower Monday night, and James was getting ready for bed...this happened:

The crimescene.

Someone tore the wrapping paper off and started to work on the "wood" plastic case to try and get to the alcohol filled chocolates inside. Someone... someone....

Someone trying to show me how cute he is.

Let's just say he got a smack on the nose. And thankfully he didn't really get any of the chocolates. Booze and chocolate don't really mix for puppies. So to be safe, we pulled the other present out from under the tree, so there are none. I really need to wrap them. Although I do just love the lighted tree. But wrapping the presents might be useful for oh a week from now.

Tonight I tried out a recipe that I got from a co-worker. His wife makes it for potlucks and it is SO good. She calls it bean soup, but it tends to be thicker than a soup. I'll put her recipe, then the changes that I made.

Bean Soup Recipe

• 1 lb hamburger, browned and drained
• 1 onion and 1 jalapeno, diced
• 2 cans of pork n beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can light kidney beans
• 1 can dark kidney beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1-2 cans tomato soup (depending on how thick you want it)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (or more depending on how sweet you want it)
  

Brown hamburger, drain fat off. Mix in a pot with beans, soup and brown sugar. Pour into crockpot and cook on low for a few hours. Can be served over rice.

Now for my notes...
I used tomato sauce, not tomato soup. I also drained a good portion of the liquid out of the beans so that it wouldn't be overly soupy. I didn't bother mixing it in another dish (because why would I want to wash another dish?). I just dumped everything in my crockpot and mixed it in there. I'd probably add a little more brown sugar too. And I didn't really notice the jalapeno adding anything to the flavor so next time, I'll probably leave it out. Mine cooked for 6 hrs on low, came out wonderful. It will make a LOT of beans too.

Photo by James

James wanted potato with it instead of rice. We only had a giant potato. Let me tell you, I'm stuffed. The beans are filling. So go ahead and enjoy.