Bean with Ham Soup

Okay, so we are having a AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion Championship Game Party...
(AKA February "Celebrate") ... at church tonight. On the menu... SOUP! (in bowls) on Sunday...
Anyway... I made triple the beans and used half for this recipe and half for another one.


To make the beans...
Rinse and drain 1 lb. dried beans.
Put the rinsed beans in a pot with 12 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, and let boil for 2 minutes.
Turn off heat, cover, and let soak for 1-2 hours.
Rinse the soaked beans, being sure to remove the excess skins and other small particles that float to the surface. Drain.

Once the beans are rinsed and drained, put them in a crock pot with 8 cups of water.
Add:
one ham bone (I had a couple in the freezer from Christmas)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder (I did not put in onion because of Aunt Rachel's allergy)
1/4 tsp pepper
Turn the crock pot on high for 8-9 hours.
Remove ham bone, let it sit until it is cool enough to handle, cut off as much meat as possible and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the ham to soup.
Also add 1-1/2 cups cooked mashed potatoes (I just added potato flakes that had been mixed with hot water to the right consistency.)
Stir ingredients together and cook on high for an additional 15 minutes.

Makes 11 servings.
45g carbohydrates
9g fiber
14g protein