Beans Beans..the musical fruit

Sorry.. I couldn't help myself.

Back on the 13th, It was snowing and  a great day to make a warm comforting Crock pot meal.

J had said he really liked to eat Ham and Beans and I thought... I can do this. And better yet I can do this in a crock pot. So I googled "Ham and Beans and crock pot". I found this recipe and saw that it didn't contain anything that I know for sure that I'm not supposed to eat. Sweet. Game On.

The ingredients were not hard to find and definitely not hard to prepare. Better yet, I didn't have to soak any beans over night.

Recipe used from Food.com

I will have to say that I have a 4qt Crock pot and I think this recipe would have been better in a 5 1/2 or 6 quart. I couldn't fit all the ham hocks in the crock pot. It still tasted  good but more ham would always be better.

Servings : we got  about 8-9

• 1 meaty ham bone or 4 -6 ham hocks
• 1 large yellow onion , chopped ( both of us thought there was TOO much onion  so I am going to add less next time or cut larger pieces to take them out after cooking)
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 carrot , shredded (optional- I did)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 lb bag of  great northern beans , rinsed and picked over
• 6 -8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1. Add onion and celery to crock pot.
2. Place ham bone or hocks on top of onion and celery.
3. Pour rinsed beans around ham and sprinkle with pepper.
4. Add bay leaves and garlic.
5. Add chicken stock and stir to combine all ingredients cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
6. When ham is tender (6-7 hours) Remove meat from bones (discarding fat and bones) and return meat to the pot. Stir to combine and break up ham pieces.
7. To thicken smash some of the beans on the side of crock pot.
8. Skim off fat and discard bay leaves.