Thursday, January 17, 2013

Crockpot White Bean and Ham Soup

I've been craving soup lately, but winter in Florida usually means it's 80 degrees outside. That didn't stop me though - just turn the AC down low! lol I've never made this soup before, but my friend's mom used to make black eyed pea soup with pieces of ham when we were in elementary school. It was delicious and used that as my inspiration. But she used to simmer that soup on the stove for hours. I've never cooked with dried beans before and I was gonna attempt it on the crockpot...def used my family as my guinea pigs! lol If it failed then we could always pick up a pizza!

I was hoping Publix had ham bones, but they didn't and I wasn't about to go all the way to The Honey Baked Ham store to get some. I just grabbed some ham from the meat section at Publix. I thought it was a big slab of ham that I could dice up on my own, but it was pre-sliced. It still worked and the whole soup turned out so good and this has to be the EASIEST dish EVER! Kevin liked the new recipe and the kids gobbled it up. In Parker's words: "It dee-wicious, Mommy!"


Gather it:
1 lb of dried White Northern Beans, rinsed and sorted through
about 1 lb of ham, large pieces
3 (14.5 oz each) cans of chicken stock
1 medium white onion, diced
pepper
parsley
oregano

Make it:
1. Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours.

That's it! lol Easy, huh? I think that's a huge reason why I liked this recipe so much! I didn't add extra salt b/c I wasn't sure how salty the soup would be from the ham. The kids ate it fine without extra salt, but Kevin and I added a little sea salt to our bowls. We also ate it with some mini corn muffins - the Jiffy brand was on sale (not that it's not already cheap) 2 for $0.95. This is the brand that my mother in law uses so it's now my go-to brand. Parker thought he was getting a special treat b/c it was muffin shaped! lol Oh and next time, I'll probably add some spinach to the soup to get some veggies worked into the soup!



Another soup to try: black eyed pea soup
http://sweetandsimpleandadashofcrazy.blogspot.com/2013/03/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html

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31 comments:

  1. do you think vegetable stock would be good too?

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  2. I'm sure it would! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out! I've made this soup again and have added kale and spinach...great way to add veggies!

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  3. For the best cornbread ever. ... mix one jiffy cornbread with one jiffy yellow cake mix. Use ingredients that need added to both on back of boxes. However use the cornbread
    instructions for baking. They are fabulous!!!
    Sweet with that wonderful texture of the cornbread.

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    1. Wendy, I will have to try that! It sounds really good!

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  4. How many servings does this make!? Can't wIt to try it!

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    1. Brittani, I'm not sure exactly how many servings it is. It's enough to feed my family of 4 (hubby he eats 2 huge bowls, my kids who are 4 and 2 and I eat 1 big bowl with plenty for lunch the next day. This is so good as leftovers! All th flavors blend together even more!

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  5. Replies
    1. Holly, yes I used precooked ham. I went to the lunch meat section (not the deli counter) of my grocery store and they had the thick slabs of ham there. Usually each slab is packaged individually.

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  6. How much pepper parsly and oregano do you add? I was guessing a teaspoon of each...?

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  7. Katie, I don't really measure these. I tend to not over pepper things that the kids will eat and will add more later to my individual bowl. As far as the oregano and parsley goes, I used dried herbs. I use probably 2 tsp of oregano and probably 2 Tbsp of parsley. I usually let the kids shake the parsley...I don't really taste it and the kids like to help so I let them shake the container quite a bit. Plus it adds a little bit of color. I've also made this with fresh baby spinach and/or fresh kale....delish!

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  8. Did you soak the beans first? Looks so good

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    1. Nope! I just rinse it and dump it in the crockpot. That's what I love about this soup...you just throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and come back to it 8 hours later.

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  9. I'm making this for Sunday dinner. So much easier than soaking the beans several hours. I like to use that diced ham from the fresh meat section. This would probably work with pinto beans, too.

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    1. Mary, I hope your soup turned out yummy! I've never used pinto bean before, but I'm sure it would turn out really good. I have made this soup before and added spinach or kale depending on what I have. It's a good way to get my kids to eat more veggies! Also check out: http://sweetandsimpleandadashofcrazy.blogspot.com/2013/03/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html

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    2. I am going to make this soup and I have some kale that I want to put in, when did you put in the kale? In the beginning or more toward the end? Thanks!

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    3. I put the kale in the beginning. I throw everything in together all at once and forget about it until it's time to eat.

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  10. I added a leftover bag of shredded carrots. I am wondering how the spinach worked. Did you try it?

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    1. Connie, how did the carrots work out? I have added fresh baby spinach and fresh kale. Both were delicious additions! I added about 2-3 cups...seems like a lot but it wilted down to nothing!

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  11. wonder if you could use canned northerns, if so I'm making it this week :)

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    1. I have never tried canned beans before. It might get too mushy if you cook it in the crockpot for a long time since it's already cooked.

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  12. I know this post is pretty old, but I just found it on pinterest. I am going to make this tonight, but only have 5 hours till dinner, so I'm gonna put the crock pot on high and hope for the best!!

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    1. I hope it turned out well, Heather!

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    2. I did the same thing...high, and I'm at hour 4...beans still seem tough and it isn't thick like the pic. Still brothy. :(

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  13. Do you just cover the beans...or about 1-2" of water above the beans. as beans swell...

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  14. This recipe sounds amazing and the best kind of simple (load up the crock pot while I'm still half-asleep and come home to a beautifully cooked dinner)!!!

    I can't wait to try it, although I'm thinking of swapping out ham and replacing it with pan-fried diced chorizo and maybe popping in some extra beans.

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  15. I am making this for dinner. I found you from a posting on You Tube. 'The Fundamental Home' used your recipe and declared it was delicious. Pat

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! It's such an easy recipe to make!

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  16. Will it be ok to soak the beans first or will it mess the beans up

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  17. We have made this several times and it is delicious. I substitute smoked sausage instead of ham and only put it in the last couple hours before it's done. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.

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  18. This soup is great!! Made it several times. This time I was frazzled when I made it and forgot the onion. It still tasted great. Since there are only two of us we eat it the first night and I freeze the rest for two more nights. It's great!

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