HAM AND BEANS AND DUMPLINGS

Ham and Beans and Dumplings image

Once in a while my mom would cut up canned biscuits and add them to her pot of beans. They are good with the beans and makes for a heartier meal. She sometimes would serve up a big bowl of fried potatoes as a side dish to go along with beans and cornbread. While my mom's beans were good she only used onion and pepper to season...

Provided by Julia Ferguson

Time 3h30m

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

2 lbs navey or great northern beans, rinsed, picked over and soaked in water overnight in fridge.
1 fairly large meaty ham bone
3-4 celery ribs, with leaves, cut in slightly chunky pieces
1 large onion, cut in a chunky dice
2-3 carrots, scraped and cut in small dice
1-2 leeks, white and yellow part only, quarter leeks lengthwise and rinse in a bowl of water to throughly remove sand and dirt, drain and cut into small pieces
1 bay leaf
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tsp each - black pepper, onion powder, dried parsley flakes
1 can(s) refrigerated butermilk biscuits (not the flakey buttermilk)
*water to cover, and more if needed later (chicken broth can also be used in place of the water or an addition to the water)

Steps:

1. Place rinsed and picked over beans that have been soaked overnight in fridge, then rinsed and drained again into a large soup pot.
2. Add cleaned and cut vegetables to soup pot; add ham bone and enough *water to cover beans and ham. Add bay leaf, garlic, pepper, onion powder and parsley flakes.
3. On medium-high heat bring beans up to a boil, place lid on beans and turn down until just simmering. Cook until meat on bone and beans are tender. Cook time above shows 3 hrs. but I like to simmer about 5 hrs. to get a better tasting broth.
4. When cooked to desired doneness; remove bay leaf, remove ham bone and set aside until cool enough to handle. If needed add more water to pot before dropping the biscuits. (I usually add 2 cups of water, you want enough liquid for the dumplings to cook in)
5. While bringing bean pot back to a rolling boil, open canned biscuits, seperate and quarter each biscuit. Once broth is boiling, drop biscuit quarters into boiling broth. Place tight fitting lid on pot, lower heat but keep broth bubbling. Do not lift or remove lid for 20 minutes. (dumplings will sit on top of the broth the whole time they are cooking)
6. While dumplings are cooking, remove ham from bone. After 20 minutes, remove lid and add ham back into pot and heat through. Dumplings will be sitting on top of the broth. Just push them down into the broth and keep on low until ready to serve. (They will sink into the broth)
7. You now have Ham and Beans and Dumplings. Serve with chopped fresh onion on the side and steaming hot cornbread with butter and honey. Enjoy!
8. Notes: If using the large biscuits (such as Grands) cut the biscuits into eights or smaller. I used the large Kroger brand of buttermilk biscuits (not the flakey ones) and cut them in eights. I tasted the dumplings after I took the lid off and they were slightly doughy in the middle. If they are gently pushed down into the broth and allowed to continue to cook on low (without the lid) until ready to serve they will finish cooking through and not be so doughy.