This week our Sunday Supper group took on the challenging of creating and sharing meals that warm our souls. Susan from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen is this week’s gracious host! Thank you Susan!
Soul warming food to me means comfort food that warms my belly and sparks my memories of meals gone by. Meals with Mom. Meals with my daughter before she could rest her chin on top of my head. 😉
Likewise, these aren’t Holiday meals. Holiday meals have a special mental file. Can you believe how close that time of year is getting? 8)
So if I need to pick just one comforting, soul warming dish today, I think Ham and String Beans (green beans, wax beans, haricot verts, snap beans) with potatoes is my choice.
Smoked ham hocks or shanks have a flavor and texture all their own. The meat is tender and moist. If you never had this portion of a pig, I’d compare it to the dark meat of poultry.
The cuts come from the same place, a shank named for German name of schenkel or thigh and a ham hock, which is a cut just above the foot.
My earliest gardening memories are of sitting at our kitchen table with a big colendar of green beans on my lap. My job was to snap off the ends, grab the little “string” and pull it off.
Today most varieties are “stringless” but every once in a while, I’ll find some farm fresh beans and I get to pull one!

Ham and String Beans

Ingredients
• 2 ham shank or 2 hocks
• 1 pound fresh or frozen beans, ends removed
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
• 4 cups of homemade or 1 (32 ounce) carton of chicken stock
• 2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 2 Tablespoons dried

1. Place ham, celery, onions, potatoes and stock in slow cooker.
2. Set on High and set probe for 160 or time for 3 hours.

Check for doneness, meat should pull away from bone.

1. You can cook your beans on your stovetop then add them to the mix if desired. I choose this method because I’m fussy about how tender (not mushy) my beans get! 😉

If you don’t have a slow cooker, no worries! 🙂

1. Place ham, celery, onions and stock in large Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat, and simmer about 2 hours or until meat easily separates from the bone.
3. Move meat to a plate and allow to cool slighty. Remove meat from bone, set aside.
4. Add potatoes and beans to stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until tender.
5. Return meat to the pot, add parsley.
6. Serve on a plate or as a stew with the broth.
   This goes great with salad or crusty bread!

Need more great recipe ideas?
We have over 50 contributors this week, bringing you their best warm you up dishes.  We have everything from stews, soups, main entrees and even some hot drinks and desserts.

Just look at the list below that is coming to the #SundaySupper table this week!

Main Entrees:

• Carrot, Parsnip and Lentil Casserole  – Happy Baking Days
• Chicken with Herbed Dumplings – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Chicken pot pie – Gotta Get Baked
• Cholula Chicken Enchiladas – Kwistin’s Favorites
• Eggplant Parmesan – The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Roasted Roots and Fruits with Sausage – Shockingly Delicious

Chili/Stews:

• Beer-Braised Beef – Sustainable Dad
• Bigos {Authentic Polish Hunter’s Stew} – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Brunswick Stew and Rice – Big Bear’s Wife
• Calico Beans – Home Cooking Memories
• Carbonnade Flamande – The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Chicken Cacciatore {Hunter Style Stew} with Easy Creamy Polenta –Webicurean
• Chicken & Mushroom Stew On Egg Noodles –  Galactosemia in PDX
• Cowboy Beef Stew – Comfy Cuisine
• Ham and String Beans –  Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hearty Moose Meatball Stew – Mrs. Mama Hen
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili – Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Lentil and Chorizo Stew – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Seafood Gumbo and Soul Warming #SundaySupper Wine Pairings – ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Soul Warming Hearty Beef Stew – In The Kitchen With KP

Soups:

• 30 Minute Black Bean Soup – Supper for a Steal
• Black Bean Soup – Basic and Delicious
• Black Bean Soup with Hot Roast Pepper Cream – The Lovely Pantry
• Canadian Beer Cheese Soup – Juanita’s Cocina
• Chicken Soup with Dumplings – The Messy Baker
• Chicken Tortilla Soup – Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Coconut Curry Chicken Soup – Damn Delicious
• Easy Chicken and Dumplings – My Catholic Kitchen
• Easy Italian Wedding Soup – Family Foodie
• Easy Wonton Soup – Soni’s Food
• French Onion Soup – Momma’s Meals
• Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings – I Run For Wine
• Lasagna Soup – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup – Mangiamo
• Lentil and Bacon Soup – Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Lentil Soup with Spinach – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Peppery Mulligatawny Soup with Cherry Tomatoes & Cilantro – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Pozolillo Verde {Green Chicken & Corn Pozole} – La Cocina de Leslie
• Red Lentil Soup with Crispy Aromatic Coriander – Chattering Kitchen
• Roasted Jalapeno Soup – Chocolate Moosey
• Rule of Thirds Soup – What Smells So Good?
• Seafood Chowder – Noshing with the Nolands
• Spanish Garlic Soup – Pippi’s In The Kitchen Again
• Spicy Gumbo Z’herbes – Pescetarian Journal
• Spicy Korean Brisket Soup {Yukgaejang} – Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup {Jjamppong} – Kimchi Mom
• Spicy Udon Noodle Soup – My Trials In The Kitchen
• Turkey Noodle Soup – Magnolia Days
• Tuscan Bean Soup  – The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Twisted Chicken Noodle Soup – The Meltaways
• Warm You Up Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup – Daily Dish Recipes

Desserts/Beverages:

• Hot Fudge Pudding Cake – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Hot Chocolate with Orange – GirliChef

Join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper.  In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat.

All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.

We’d also love to feature your Sunday Supper Soul Warming Recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers, too.