3 Bean Salad ?

I don't know if it is good for my labs, but it is good for ME.

My Wife thinks I shouldn't be allowed in the Grocery store, or the kitchen. I don't know how to cook small.

I went to Wal-Mart intending to buy the cinnimon graham crakers and ginger snaps that I like to snack on with my morning coffee. Since I had to pass the pet food aisle I actually remembered the cat food barrel thing was almost empty. So of course I went down that aisle and got the BIG bag, almost $20. Right around the corner is the, whoo, wait, the close out shelf is right there! Dove Dark Chocolate Bars were marked down to $0.75 each. I took all 6. I did control my urge and left the box and a half of Dark with Almonds. Now straight up the aisle got the graham crackers and ginger snaps and headed up front. Along the way there was a the big stacks of stuff along the middle of the aisle. One of the stacks was beans, different kinds. I may have been hungry, as I started thinking of a Bean Salad. I LIKE Bean Salad. So I grabbed a can of this and a can of that, and another thing. Then decided I also needed green and wax beans, so I just had to go find the canned food aisle. Got green, yellow, garbanzo, baby lima. TStop in Produce and pick out some nice firm fat sweet onions. Oh, the Deli is RIGHT HERE. Since the Deli counter was in my way. Oh they have a few butterfly cut deep fried shrimp. Since I miss living on Puget Sound, and taking the boat around and down Hood Canal during Shrimp Season, and filling our chest freezer with shrimp tails, I had to get the few they had left. She had five, but the price was 6 for $2.49. I asked if she would adjust that because it is short. No can do, that's what the label maker spits out. Do I want a few of the popcorn shrimp? Ah, NO, they are small dry and a thick layer of breading, I wouldn't put that stuff in my mouth. No Manager so I'm stuck with full price. Luckily the checkers are not swamped. I am second in line at the only cigarette aisle so the sweet faced blond with dark roots is just closing out the lady in front of me. I line up all my cans and stuff and as she's scanning them I ask, "Can you tell what I'm going to make?" She stops and looks at what each can is, and says she doesn't know. I tell her "Comeon, you can be that blonde, I can see your roots". She laughs and tries to tell me she is a dirty blonde. I laugh and say I'll agree with the dirty part. But she still can't figure it out, so I tell her she must have had a deprived childhood if she never ate bean salad. She's about to scan the shrimp and I ask if she can adjust the price as the Deli didn't have a Manager to do it and it is short, but the label is for full price. By now there is another Lady in line behind me. When she heard me ask if the price could be adjusted she pipes up "No'. The Cashier and I just give her a look. She picked up her few items and moved to the next cashier who now is free. So the Cashier calls for her Manager and starts to scan the Dove bars. Of course they ring up at full price, not the marked down shelf price, and I squawk. When the Manager Lady gets there she makes the adjustment of the shrimp but has to call someone else about the Dove bars. That Lady comes, takes one look and says those are only 75 cents. I finally get totaled and get out of there.

Met my Wife in town and split the shrimp with her and told her about the bean salad I was going to make for dinner. I said it needs some color, pimento? She actually agreed with me. So now I'm off to Kroger. Good thing it's on the way home. Ppimento is NOT in the pickles aisle, but the wet type chicken boullion is, and the jar I have is almost empty cause Wife and I both like it. I grab one and go up front to ask where they hid the pimento. The nice young Lady insisted on showing me. You can tell she is from Missouri, the 'Show-Me' State. Hmmmmm, the little jar doesn't look like enough, the big jar might be too much. I get the big one. Oh look, sliced baby mushrooms. I got the big jar. Go to check out and my card won't work. Huh? It's one of those 'new' cards. It has a strip AND a chip. The strip won't work in their reader. Oh? Cashier tells me I have to put the card IN. I've never done that! Stick the card in, the machine starts doing it's thing. I pull the card out and stick it back in my wallet. The machine won't finish. What? She tells me I have to put the card back in, only this time LEAVE it in. This isn't one of those 'instant' transactions like they show in the TV ads. It takes a minute, and a half, THEN it wants my PIN. Finally done. I outta there. I go home, start to look at a glass bowl. Nah, I know better, I'm gonna need a much larger bowl. Got the BIG one out and start cracking cans open. Get one of the onions from Wal-Mart and my favorite knife. Wife had it hid in the dishwasher. I'm surprise she used it. I am proud of my knives. I have a bunch. The block is stuffed, with a couple of holes holding twins, and a number more stuck down in the slot between the counter and the stove, both sides, along with my kitchen hatchet sort of thing for really dicing stuff. And they are ALL very sharp, like razors. Be VERY careful if you ever handle one of my knives, they WILL cut you, without even thinking about. And they do not care. Peel slice and chop the onion, add the pimento, start sniffing vinegars, we have a selection, about 6 kinds. I select straight clear/white, and a packet of Italian salad dressing mix. Stir, taste, add a dash and a hlaf of very course grind garlic pepper using the grinder. Add about a tablespoon of lemon pepper, from the 5 pounds I order, NOT that stuff you find on the shelf. Taste like it needs more vinegar, maybe that's just me, I decide to wait until 'She' gets home and tastes it before adding any more.

She liked it.

After dinner I have to re-wash a half gallon canning jar to fit the rest in the refrigerator. We will snack on the pint or so that is left.

Charlie's 3, no, SIX Bean Salad

1 Can Black Beans, Rinsed
1 Can Kidney Beans, Rinsed
1 Can Baby Lima Beans, Rinsed
1 Can Garbanzo Beans/Chickpeas, Rinsed
1 Can Cut Wax/Yellow Beans, Rinsed
2 Cans Cut Green Beans, Rinsed
1 Tall Jar Sliced Baby Mushrooms, Rinsed
1 Large Jar Sliced Pimento, Rinsed
1 Large Sweet Onion, Sliced/Chopped Bite Size
1 Packet Italian Salad Dressing Mix
4 Cups White Vinegar
1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil

Gently fold all canned and jar material in a large mixing bowl
Peel Cut and chop Onion into bite size pieces and add to bowl
In a large jar add vinigar, oil water, and dry salad dressing mix, blend with the hand electric blender mixer thing hanging on the wall so it emulsifies.

Pour it in with everything else.

Refrigerate. Serve cold.