10-10-10

So, it's the second week of October and somewhere, Mother Nature is laughing at me. She's mocking me. Why? Because once again I'm planning fall meals, and the temperature is supposed to climb to almost 90º  today!! Seriously, this warm weather is welcome, b/c let's face it, we all know what is coming and what we are in store for, but for the past week it seems to happen just as I pull out the crock pot or soup pot! Oh well, I guess I can look at it like this, at least the crock pot isn't heating up the house! This recipe is one I found online, but I can't remember the site. I was looking for a ham and beans recipe in the crock pot b/c Adam loves ham and beans; but he wants them thick and creamy. I've tried other recipes before and they haven't been what he wanted; but they were all cooked stove top. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed this one will yield what he enjoys so much!

Crock Pot Ham and Beans

1 lb. dried great northern beans

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

2 ribs celery finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb. ham cut into bite sized chunks

5 cups water

3 TBS flour

Sort beans and soak in enough water to cover overnight. Rinse, drain, and place in crock pot. In a food processor, add onion, celery and carrots. Pulse until finely chopped. Add onion mixture to beans. Mix in ham. Pour water on top, season w/ salt and pepper. Stir well.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Lower heat to low and cook for 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Using a ladle, spoon some of the liquid out and mix w/ flour. Pour back into soup and return to high heat. Cook for 1 hour more (8 hours total) until thickened.

*NOTE* If you forget to soak the beans overnight, put them in a large stock pot. Cover with water until it's 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Leave covered and soak for 1 hour. Place in crock pot and proceed with recipe.

Soup at Very Good Recipes