Lunch: Succotash

A vegetable side dish with butter beans and bacon.

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon Paula Deen's Hot Sauce, or one small hot pepper
1/4 teaspoon Paula Deen's Seasoned Salt
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon Paula Deen's House Seasoning
1 (16 oz) package butter beans, frozen or fresh
2 quarts water
1 ham hock, about 1/2 lb
1 (16 oz) package frozen shoe-peg corn, (use fresh if you can get it)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon chicken base
2 cups sliced okra
4 fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks

Instructions

Put ham hock in a stockpot and add the water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add House Seasoning and seasoned salt to water as hock simmers. Add water as needed (up to 2 more cups as the meat cooks). Add the butter beans, 2 tablespoons butter and hot sauce and return the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the beans are done. Remove butter beans and reserve liquid. In a skillet, saute bacon. Add corn, okra butter beans and a few scoops of juice from the butter beans pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add parsley and chicken base; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add fresh tomatoes and 4 tablespoons more butter at the last minute. Simmer until tomatoes are hot.