I've been hungry for some good homemade bean soup. I've never tackled making it, but I remember my mother using a left over ham bone to make the base stock. Occasionally she'd make it using ham hocks, which instantly turned it into poisons as far as I'm concerned.
For you city slickers, ham hocks are pig's feet. (Yes, you can gag now.)
I seriously doubt my mother followed a recipe for bean soup. If she did, it was just in her head. I'm willing to experiment, but I like to have a recipe to use as a base.
Sunday night I put a pound of navy beans into a pan of water to soak. Soaking lets the beans swell and soften a bit before cooking. It also shorten their cooking time.
I also chopped up some ham I had in the freezer as well as diced potatoes, shredded carrots and chopped a couple onions.
Yesterday morning I tossed it all into the crockpot, along with a couple cans of diced tomatoes and a couple quarts of water. I added some ground black pepper as well.
By lunchtime, when I stopped by the house to give it a stir, I could smell the soup as I walked in the door. The beans were still a bit hard, but everything was coming together.
At 5:00 pm, the soup was ON! It needed some salt, which I was reluctant to add because of the chopped ham. But, overall, it was a successful batch of soup.
Some will be lunch today, some will go in the freezer and the rest has made it's way to my dad's house. It will make a quick lunch for him someday.
Bill's Bean Soup
1 lb Navy Beans
4 cups diced ham
4 cups diced potatoes
2 cups shredded carrot
2 medium onions, chopped fine
1 or 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Soak the navy beans over night. In the morning, place all ingredients in a crockpot and set it on low. Stir occasionally, letting it cook approximately eight-hours.
ENJOY!
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