Ham and Beans made oh-so easy in your crock pot. Creamy Great Northern Beans, smoky salty chunks of ham, sweet and spicy corn bread and you've got a winning comfort food combination.
1poundGreat Northern White Beanssorted for misfits and rinsed. Or you can use Navy beans
enough water to cover beans by 2 inches
1Tablespoonolive oil
1cupcarrotsdiced
1cupcelerydiced
1cupsweet oniondiced
6cupschicken brothor water
1ham shankor ham bone
1TablespoonSoup Seasoning Mixor 2 bay leaves and 1 teaspoon dried thyme
corn bread for serving
Instructions
Rinse beans and sort for misfits.
Cover the beans with water. The water level should be 2 inches above the beans. Soak the beans overnight. No need to refrigerate while soaking. The next morning, drain the water.
Heat a fry an over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the celery, onions and carrots. Saute until until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the beans, the cooked vegetables, the ham shank, chicken broth and Soup Seasoning Mix to the crock pot.
Let cook on low for 6 - 7 hours on low or until beans are tender.
Remove ham hock and when it’s cool enough to handle, shred meat and return the meat to the crock of beans
Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place a square of cornbread in a soup bowl. Ladle a couple of scoops of ham and beans beside the corn bread and sprinkle with chopped raw onion.
Notes
If you forgot to soak dried beans the night before, never fear, you can always use the heat soaking method. Cover the beans with water, the water level should be two inches above the beans. Bring them to a boil stove-top and cook for two minutes. Turn off the heat, let them soak for two hours and then start the cooking process.If you want to soak the beans in chicken broth, you'll need to place the container in the refrigerator overnight. I usually don't have that sort of room in the fridge. No need to drain the broth and add new broth to cook the beans. If you don't keep a supply of Soup Seasoning Mixin your pantry, use this simple ham and beans seasoning: