SLOW COOKED HAM BONE SOUP

Slow Cooked Ham Bone Soup image

Provided by Diane Atherton

Time 7h

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 1/2 lb dried beans (large butter beans, small lima, blackeyed peas, navy beans, pintos, etc) can used package mix
water for soaking beans
1 Tbsp white vinegar
3 Tbsp cajun seasoning
1 extra meaty leftover ham bone
1 to 2 c leftover ham, chopped
6 to 8 c chicken broth
1 large onion
2 tsp garlic paste, or 2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 c parsley paste, or 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 large carrots, scraped and diced
2 large red potatoes, peeled and diced (or potato of your choice)
2 stalk(s) celery, diced or sliced
1 c frozen yellow corn
salt and pepper to taste
2 (14.5 oz) cans petite dicecd tomatoes

Steps:

1. Pick over the dry beans and discard any broken or shriveled looking ones. Rinse beans several times. Place in a 6 ½ quart crock pot with about 3 quarts water, the vinegar and 2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning. Set on warm and allow beans to soak overnight about 10 to 12 hours.
2. The next morning, drain the beans and discard the water. Place beans back into the slow cooker along with the ham bone. Add chicken broth, enough to cover beans and ham bone. Add remaining ingredients (except for the diced tomatoes) and add the remaining 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning. Turn cooker to HIGH and cook beans until they're tender and cooked through, 6 to 7 hours.
3. The last hour of cooking remove ham bone and cut any meat left on bone and return to cooker. Add tomatoes. Adding tomatoes sooner may work against the beans becoming soft causing them to be tough.
4. Serve with cornbread or a nice crusty roll.