Bean Soup

At Kim's request, here is the bean soup recipe. I thought Emily would like it too, since it's a crock pot recipe. I suppose you could make it on the stove, but the whole point of a crock pot is the ease of cooking without being there! I think when I made it last time I used navy, black, kidney and pinto beans since I don't like limas and didn't have garbanzos. I think any combo would probably taste good. Sometimes we season it with Adobo seasoning, too, which gives it more of a garlicy flavor.

Calico Ham and Bean Soup
(Try a pound of purchased bean mix or a pound of any one of the beans for this soup. For thicker soup, mash part of the beans before serving.)

1/2 cup dry navy or great northern beans
1/2 cup dry black beans or kidney beans
1/2 cup dry lima beans
1/2 cup dry garbanzo beans
1/2 cup dry split peas
6 cups water

2 cups fully cooked ham cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 10 ounces)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
6 cups water

1. Rinse beans: drain. In a large saucepan combine the beans, peas, and the 6 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans.

2. Meanwhile, in a 3 1/2-, 4-, or 5-quart crockery cooker combine ham, onion, carrot, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir in drained beans and the remaining 6 cups fresh water.

3. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours. Discard the bay leaves. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

(Per serving: 244 calories, 19 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 3 g total fat (1 g saturated), 11 mg cholesterol, 696 mg sodium, 704 mg potassium)