Ham and Bean Soup {Crock Pot Version}

This recipe is phenomenal! I used half of a lemon as opposed to a full lemon. I also substituted 2 cups of water, with the remaining 6 being organic, low sodium chicken broth. This will most definitely be a make again meal.

The beans do need to be soaked. They were not cooked after all day in the crock pot.

I use 2 pounds of the big chunks of ham. Made Jiffy cornbread to go with it.

I found the recipe itself to be very bland. I used 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth, 2.5 cups low sodium chicken broth and 1.5 cups water. I used smoked ham hocks which I'll never do again — the smoked flavor added a very strange taste to the soup and I thought I'd have to throw it out, and I got very little meat from two (perhaps I was meant to use three or four but the recipe doesn't specify). I added some salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and a bit of thyme leaves (I know very little about spices, I was just hoping to salvage the food at this point) and let it cook longer and it turned out okay.

Some sriracha to spice it up a bit! Fantastic!

Will definitely make again. Had some bacon pieces in the freezer that I added.

I didn’t add any hotsause since my toddler was partaking, but everyone liked it. And it was super easy to make which is a bonus. Will definitely make this one again. Paired with some Jiff cornbread.