I had everything ready to go for the new year but there is a saying by Michael Chabon, “Man makes plans… and God laughs.” I ended up going to North Carolina rather quickly to see my parents. My father was not doing well and he ended up in the Emergency Room. We thought for sure he was going to lose both his legs as they looked awful. They kept telling us it was cellulitis and he had no skin left on most of his lower legs but then it started spread to his arms, upper legs, and chest. The sores on his arms went from little white dots on the day I got there to dime sized blisters the next day! It was scary and the home visiting nurse sent him to the ER. Come to find out he has a very rare skin condition and the cellulitis that they were treating him for that he did not have was making it worse. We are hoping the steroids that he is on will help him feel better and get rid of some of the pain. But, he may be on steroids the rest of his life if this doesn’t clear up. There is a good chance it will not. Thankfully it did not go to his eyes or mouth as it has been known to do.

I am now back home and ready to start this all over again!

Starting the new year off with a super simple recipe to make and it freezes well! My kids made this for dinner and they were surprised at how easy it was. They are home from college so I have them making the dinners when they can. They are surprised to see, once again, how simple it is to make super easy flavorful meals.

Verdict: This dish can be customized by changing the beans, adding a can of chiles or even a diced seeded jalapeno. Want more spice? Add more Cayenne pepper or if you like it milder cut it out all together. It is up to you!

To freeze let the soup cool and put in air tight containers or freezer bags. Freeze up to 3 months.