Thank goodness Spring came when it did because yesterday I was finally able to open all the windows and doors in my house, which aided in my campfire smell problem.

Oh, what campfire smell problem, you ask?

I had been meaning to write about it, but now that it’s gone, it seems to be a more pleasant topic to write about and laugh at. If you remember, I tried marathon cooking different recipes to use up all of our leftover holiday ham. 

We’ve had some great winners, like my awesome ham & broccoli quiche (husband can’t get enough of it, by the way). But there was one recipe I tried to wing….and I barely survived the process.

Hambone Soup. I shudder at the very thought. Given, I did end up with seven tupperware containers of soup and I think they tasted okay. But believe me when I say that it nearly burned down my house. Which of course is where the campfire smell came from…for DAYS.

People, if you’re going to try to make Hambone Soup, please…for the love of all things good in the world…follow the directions. Don’t try to get creative like I do on a daily basis with my cooking adventures.

Before I go any further, let me show you proof of the mayhem.

My pot is still soaking after days of soaking and scrubbing the thick layers of burnt crap off the bottom of my beloved pot. My stove top, which looks TERRIBLE in this picture, was actually a very easy fix thanks to my favorite version of Dawn dish soap.

But considering this Hambone Soup recipe is supposed to take over three hours…you can imagine how much an ordeal it was. There was smoking…and alarms…and bright orange hotness…and overflowing pots….and yeah….not fun.

After fighting with my fire alarm for hours, I realized my problem. I put in waaaaaaay too many beans. In my head, I figured beans are healthy, so a few extra wouldn’t hurt. Wrong thinking. Given, this was my first time cooking with dried beans, but when I thought back to the big rice fiasco that my husband concocted, I realized my fatal flaw. The extra beans needed more water.

I also think the recipe was flawed. A “hard boil” for three hours? That really should have tipped me off. But imagine my surprise when I walked away from the pot for 20 minutes to eat some dinner literally feet from the stove top only to realize that ALL the water was evaporated and the soup was literally burning.

I was able to save the soup somehow…well with loads of added water. Seriously, this soup took GALLONS. You would have thought I was bailing out a ship.

Anywho, the soup survived and has an undertone of a nice smokey flavor (I’m not even kidding about that…and surprisingly it’s actually kind of good).

But I don’t think I’ll be boiling any hambones any time soon. Well, until next year when I convince myself I can do it. Again…