Week 4 - Healthy Ham and Bean Soup

NO MORE CANNED SOUPS!!!!

Get ready to learn how to make an amazing ham and bean soup. In this video you will start to learn how easy it is to make wholesome, amazing, delicious soup from scratch.

Back in December I reminded everyone to save that ham bone from the holidays. Today is the day to get it out. Let it defrost in your refrigerator overnight. The next morning follow these instructions.....

The Recipe......

1 ham bone

3 cups ham (or whatever you have on your bone)

1 - 1 1/4 lbs dry large lima beans

4 potatoes cubed

5 carrots sliced

3 stalks of celery sliced

1 medium onion diced

8 cups of boiling water

vegetable base

salt & pepper to taste

Add ham bone (with meat) and beans to crock pot with all vegetables. Pour in 8 cups of boiling water. Add approx. 1/4 t of pepper and 1 t of salt. Cook at high temp for 4 - 5 hours.

Remember this process is 2 fold. 1) you are making a ham stock 2) you are cooking your beans and veggies too.

After 4 -5 hours of cooking taste your stock. The ham bone should have really flavored your liquid and the flavors of the vegetables should be adding flavor too. Take ham bone out and let cool off. Once cooled take meat off bone and add back to your soup. Also turn down your crock pot to low.

Sometimes you need to add more flavor to your stock. And if you don't have a ham bone use ham base.

At this point adding a soup base would really help give your soup some depth. Soup base is concentrated stock. There are many kinds available. Some soup bases are all natural and have amazing flavors. Other types taste like bouillion. I would stick with the organic, all natural versions. These can be found in the same aisle as stocks at your local grocery store.

Add 1 - 2 teaspoons if necessary to your soup. Stir and taste to see if you need more. Soup base is salty and replaces any salt you would add into your soup.

Add more pepper if necessary and continue to cook on low until beans, potatoes, and carrots are soft.

Serve with Bread and Butter

Weight Watchers smart Points......this is a tough one for those of you who are tracking your points. You basically have to eyeball the amount of ham and potatoes you are eating in your bowl.... record that and then I would had a couple points for the fat that was rendered from the ham bone.

#kathycooks4u

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