It’s bitterly cold outside. Warming up inside with hearty soup is one of my winter strategies of coping with cold. I have made three soups in the last few days. One of them is a new Pinto Bean and Ham Crock-Pot recipe. I experimented and found success. Not only is this soup hearty, it’s healthy.
I failed to take step-by-step pictures. I got up early Sunday morning to make the soup and was groggily drinking coffee with my camera on the counter. But I missed it all together. I needed more coffee is my only excuse.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dried pinto beans (soak overnight in cold water and then boil for 40 minutes until soft and drain. Or you drain after soaking and let them simmer all day in the Crock-Pot. I only had a few hours so I boiled them.) Pinto beans come from our family farm. Learn more here.
- (1) 1 lb. bag frozen sliced carrots or 2 cups fresh carrots sliced
- (1) 15 oz. can of sweet corn, drained
- 4 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tsp. smoked paprika (or just regular paprika works)
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. rosemary
- 1 tsp. white pepper
- 4 lbs. ham hocks (find them in your meat counter or I purchase a hog from Zweber Farms each fall and they arrive with my purchase of a freezer full of pork.)
- Water
- Optional: Salt to taste (or you can add 1-2 TBSP of chicken base)
Directions:
Place washed and soaked drained beans into Crock-Pot (minimum 5 quart needed) and combine carrots, corn, green onion, paprika, garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, white pepper and ham hocks. Add enough water to cover all ingredients by an inch or so.
Cover. Simmer on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Our Pinto Bean and Ham Soup simmered in our church basement yesterday morning in preparation for a soup and sandwich lunch. As my friend Erin advised the youth group in the kitchen, “If you’re looking, it’s not cooking.” The kids left the covers on the Crock-Pots to cook.
I wasn’t sure what to do with the ham hocks. Remove them all together or cut them up? I sought advice from a woman in our church who is a fabulous and experienced cook, Janice. She advised to:
Remove ham hocks. Cut off skin and remove bones. Dice ham and add back into soup.
So that is what I did with the help of a youth group member helping me! Stir to combine.
Serve and enjoy.
I kept this soup with no added salt but I noted above you can add some chicken base or salt to taste. I was serving it at our church and wanted to keep it as simple and healthy as possible. I scraped the bottom of the Crock-Pot to enjoy one bowl last night. It was so hearty, healthy and filling on the coldest night of the year.
What’s your soup of choice to make in the winter?
This looks great and pinto beans are a favorite here. I usually do a veggie beef soup or a Mennonite stand by recipe.
This looks great. I love ham/white bean soup, so I will give this a try. I save all the ham bones from hams we cook (even keep my mom’s bones) in the freezer to make soups. No extra expense and they are tasty. I just wrap them in foil then place in a freezer bag dated.
Ohh yummy! Printing this out now and adding it to my list of recipes to try!
Looks great for a very cold winter night. Healthy also based on the ingredients. I recommend boiling a ham bone with the stew to extract the best flavor.
I have to say I always forget to use our ham hocks! I will have to dig them out and make this. It might be a good dish to serve during the blizzard we are suppose to get. (PS Thanks for linking to our website!)