Maggie Monday: Ham. What a Crock!

I am  latecomer to liking ham. For some reason it never quite clicked with me, but as I have grown older, I have come to appreciate the flavor. Maggie is here again this Monday with a great Ham and Beans recipe. Check it out…. 

When I bake a ham, I always love the day I use the leftover bone for a big ol’ pot of ham and beans. Mmmm. So good on a chilly day! I was poking through the freezer and found the bone from our Christmas ham all wrapped up. I have made lots of pots of ham and beans over the years. Soaking the beans the night before- spending hours on the stove, stirring. Always good… But I thought I’d see how it would work in the slow cooker. If the beans had to soak over night, it made sense to me that this would work. So, I did everything I usually do, but just dumped it all in the crock-pot, hard beans and all. It was perfect. It does need a full 9 hours, so this would be perfect to toss together on a work-day. Come home to a warm, hearty meal.  If you don’t have a left over ham bone hanging around your freezer, you can use ham hocks or diced ham. But the bone gives this a nice hearty flavor.

Crock Pot Beans and Ham

What you need:

1 – 16 oz package dried northern beans

1 meaty ham bone (about a pound)

1 – small onion, diced

6-8 cups water, enough to cover beans

2 Tbs beef soup base

Salt & pepper to taste

1/3 – cup light brown sugar

What you do:

Sort the beans and pick out any that are shriveled or darkened. Rinse under cold water.

Add the beans, onion, salt, pepper,  brown sugar and ham bone into the slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. (6 – 8 cups). Stir in the beef soup base.

Cover and cook on high the first 2 hours then turn to low and continue cooking for about 4 – 5 hours or until beans are tender. You can also just cook in on low for 8-9 hours if you need to. Remove the ham bone and pick off the meat.

Return the meat to the pot and serve with corn bread. My husband likes a squirt of ketchup in his bowl.