Thursday, April 28, 2011

CHALLENGE - BEST USE OF HAM BONE

Making Ham and Beans almost sounds too elementary because that's what most people make with their ham bones. I always use a crock pot when I make beans so I don't have to watch it for hours. All I do is check it to add more water if necessary. I have NEVER soaked my beans when using a crock pot. I also like to add some hot sauce for a little kick. I'm not going to dictate how much hot sauce to use. You be your own judge. If the ham bone doesn't have a lot of ham on it, I like to add some cut up smoked sausage to make it meatier.


HER WAY: EASY PEASY HAM AND BEANS


1 lb of dried navy beans
1 ham bone
8 cups of water
1/2 of a link of smoked sausage, cut in pieces
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Hot sauce, to taste


Ingredients used in recipe.



Add beans and water to crockpot. Discard any beans that float to the top. Add ham bone.



Slice the smoked sausage link down the middle lengthwise into 2 pieces. Slice each of those 2 pieces down the middle lengthwise again. Cut into bite size pieces. Add to crock pot.



Add onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I gave the hot sauce bottle 10 good shakes. You can always add more later if you want more of a kick. Give the ingredients a stir. Cover and cook for 2 hours on high. Turn setting down to low and cook for 6 additional hours.



The final result! The sausage didn't overwhelm the flavor of the ham and beans. It gave it a meatier, smokier flavor. It really was delicious. I ate mine the same way our Great-Grandfather ate his. . .over a piece of bread and butter. Comfort food at it's best!!




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** Pete had an unexpected job that he had to work on. He sends his apologizes and hopes that you will understand that his livelihood has to come first. He will have his recipe and pictures for all of you tomorrow.


UPDATE: Pete was unable to complete the challenge as his Ham Bone had gone bad. Apparently, someone accidentally left it out all night. Since it wasn't his fault, we will have a challenge in the future for Split Pea Soup.

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2 comments:

  1. Lori, thanks for stopping by my blog with the dolls.......I loved your comments! You and your brother has a fantastic blog, and I am now your newest follower! This is going to be such fun learning new recipes as you all try to "outdo" the each other.....great concept you have here!! I read the ham and pineapple dip/spread recipe and can hardly wait to make it as it sounds delicious!!! Some friends just returned from Hawaii and and brought me "ham" flavored macadamia nuts which I plan to add, chopped to your recipe. Stay in touch.

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  2. Thank you so much for following our blog. We are having a lot of fun with it. I think the macadamia nuts would be a wonderful addition to the ham salad. I actually preferred eating it as a dip with crackers than on bread.

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