Lentils and Ham

On the Menu Today~
Lentils and Ham
Happy New Year!

When the last of the party guests have finally gone home and
your left with a headache and a mess..........

Why not take a few ibuprofen and
prepare a "lucky" meal to enjoy on New Years Day.
You can increase your luck and
good fortune with any or all of these six lucky foods.

 Grapes
 Cooked Greens
 Legumes
 Pork
 Fish
 Noodles and Grains

Start your New Year off right~
Happy New Year!!

Lentils and Ham...
This is great recipe to make,
to use up some of that left-over ham.

Grapes~
In Spain, Portugal, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru
it's custom to consume 12 grapes at midnight.
The goal is to eat 12 grapes before the last stroke of midnight.
12 grapes represent the 12 months of the year.

Cooked Greens~
Cooked greens including cabbage, collards, kale and
chard are consumed on New Years for a very simple reason,
their green leaves look like folded money, thus symbolic of good fortune.
The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mixture,
Germans eat sauerkraut (cabbage) and in
Southern United States collards are the greens of choice.

Legumes~
Legumes include beans, peas and lentils.
Legumes are symbolic of money/coins.
A very lucky dish could include pork, legumes and greens.
In the Southern US,
its traditional to eat black-eyed peas or
cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john.
Hoppin' John is made with pork, beans and greens.

Pork~
Pork is symbolic of progress, wealth and prosperity.
Roast duckling is served in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungry and Austria.
Pigs Feet are eaten in Sweden and
Roast Pork or Sausages are preferred by Germans.

Fish~
Fish is believed to be lucky because their scales resemble coins and
fish swim in schools which symbolize abundance.
Pickled herring is consumed at midnight in Poland and Germany.
Dried salt cod is also eaten in many countries.

Noodles and Grains~
Noodles are symbolic of long life and
grains like rice and quinoa stand for abundance.
Long noodles are to be slurped up whole,
without breaking the noodle for added luck.

Lentils and Ham

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth or water
• 1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 6 ounces smoked cooked ham, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring beef broth to a boil over high heat.
2. Stir in the lentils. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
3. Add the sausage, potatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, basil leaves, salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender.

Ham, Pork, Lentils
Serve with collard greens~

Happy New Year!!