It's my Monday...

Friday's are my Monday's...likewise, Tuesday's are my Friday's! I work an awful schedule Fri-Tues and it sucks because I have to take time off to be with my friends on the weekends if it's outside of the 9am-3pm time period. It DEFINITELY motivates me to keep applying for more jobs...paralegal ones mostly but I have worked my way back to the human service field, seeking a position as a mgr, again.

Can you believe it's snowing out this morning? Nothing spectacular, but I think a band of cold has come through. It's Spring in New England - whattaya gonna do aboutttt it? AND, since it's spring and not quite summer and Easter is coming...if you have leftover ham, here's a great soup to make with your leftover ham! (Recipe credit here)

• 3/4 pound fully cooked ham cubed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 cans (16 ounces) great northern beans, rinsed and; drained
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup peeled diced potatoes
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

In a 3 quart saucepan, saute ham, onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender.

Add the next seven ingredients; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add peas and cook for 5 minutes. Add parsley and serve.

NOTE: I have changed the recipe up a bit to make it more figure friendly by buying a small John Morell Sliced bone-in ham steak, 1 T. Butter instead of 2, 1 can of beans instead of 2, and omitting the peas altogether. I've made this recipe twice. Once in my crock pot and once on the stove-top. The crock pot method tastes better - it gives it more time to blend the flavors. I think I cooked it on Med-High for about 4-5 hours.