Crockpot Ham & Beans

I modified this recipe from one I found for summertime crock pot meals.  You can find the original here.  I made some changes to make it a bit more kid-friendly and suited to our tastes.

1 lb dry pinto beans

1 lb dry black beans

10 cloves garlic, diced finely

2 white onions, diced finely

1 tsp. cumin

2 Tbsp of sea salt

1 Tbsp of black pepper

9-11 cups of water

12-16 oz of chopped ham

Soak beans overnight and rinse before using.  Place in slow cooker with remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the ham.  Cook on high 5-6 hours or on low 7-8 hours (I prefer high for flavor…low risks becoming too mushy).  Add the ham in the last hour of cooking.  Ham is almost always sold pre-cooked (except for my favorite butcher who practically gives me a hunk of meat straight off the hog), so really, you just have to warm it up. Serve with butter and cornbread.

It makes a huge meal, and the leftovers can be frozen for later use, which is AWESOME.  The flavor is so much better than plain ham & beans.  This is my new bean go-to recipe.