Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup for the Crock Pot |
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Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 480 Minutes |
Ready In: 500 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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Title says it all. Put this it together using a little bit from this recipe and a little bit from that recipe but mostly suggestions from my Mom. Tip I learned from someone else on Zaar was to add the salt at the very end of the cooking time, otherwise the beans get tough. You could also add 3/4 cup celery if you like celery in your soup, or saute the carrots and onion before putting them in the Crock Pot if you like the flavor from that, too. Ingredients:
1 lb dried great northern beans, separated, soaked, and rinsed |
3/4 cup carrot, chopped |
1/2 cup onion, chopped |
6 cups chicken broth (or substitute 2 cups of pan drippings if you have them, so 2 cups ham drippings and 4 cups chicken b) |
2 cups cooked ham, diced or shredded |
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme (or more to taste) |
1/2 teaspoon basil (or more to taste) |
1 teaspoon ground black pepper |
1 bay leaf |
salt (i use sea salt) |
Directions:
1. Place the soaked and rinsed beans in a 5- or 6-quart crock pot. Look them over one more time for any bad beans or foreign matter.
2. Add chopped carrots and onion.
3. Pour chicken broth (pan drippings/chicken broth combination if you're using it) over beans, carrots, and onion. Mix gently.
4. Add ham and stir again.
5. Throw in ground thyme, basil, and ground black pepper. (Measurements in ingredients section are a guesstimate, I hardly ever use measuring spoons when cooking, I just make a cup in my hand and eyeball it.) To my tastebuds, a little thyme goes a long way so you may wish to add more than 1/2 teaspoon. Stir again.
6. Add bay leaf and push it gently under the surface of the broth so it doesn't float.
7. Cook on high for 1 hour, then low for 8 hours, stirring once in a while if you can. You could probably just cook on low for 8-9 hours if there's nobody home to change the setting. I just like to get things heated up and moving so I do high for an hour on just about everything I put in a Crock Pot.
8. Remove the bay leaf.
9. Add salt just before serving to the whole pot or individual bowls.
10. This may taste good with a drop of Dijon mustard in individual bowls or even a tablespoon or two of cream.
11. If it's too thin, just take the lid off for a while.
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