recipe from: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com

Navy Bean Casserole

6 cups cooked navy beans (approx. 3 cups dry beans, see cooking note below**)
½ lb. sausage, like Jimmy Dean, cooked and drained of any grease
2 cups chicken gravy, recipe follows
salt and pepper to taste
cheese for topping, if desired

In a large bowl mix navy beans, cooked sausage and gravy. Put this into a 9x13 pan and top with a little bit of grated cheddar cheese if desired. Bake at 350 until it is bubbly and hot. Serve with cornbread and a large green salad.

Chicken Gravy
1 cup water
1 cup milk
¼ cup ww pastry flour
2 chicken bullion cubes

In a small pan add water and milk. I like to save some of the water or milk to mix with the pastry flour. You can mix the liquid and flour in a blender or by hand with a wire whip to assure that it is lump free. Add the bullion cubes to the milk/water/flour mixture and heat to boiling stirring often. When it is bubbly and thick let it cook for about 1 minute.

**Bean Cooking Note:
For this recipe you can start the beans cooking early in the day. Add 3 cups of dry navy beans to about 10 to 12 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt. Let this come to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the beans are soft and tender. You can scoop the beans out of the pot with a slotted spoon to measure for this recipe. Some of the bean liquid added to the casserole helps.