Ham and Bean Soup
THM:E, low fat, sugar free, gluten/egg/dairy/nut free (be sure to use non-contaminated ingredients)
Author: Briana Thomas
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry pinto beans (make sure that you get them from a certified gluten free company if gluten is an issue for you)
- 2 cups fat free ham broth (what is left after the broth is refrigerated overnight and the fat is taken off)
- 5 cups of water, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Salt, to taste (probably not necessary, as most ham broth is quite salty)
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. crushed garlic (I used Trader Joe's brand)
- 1 tsp. each dill weed and basil
- 2 tsp. parsley
- 2 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.) - a little sweetener helps balance out the flavor profile. Don't be alarmed if the soup tastes sweet after adding this; after cooking for awhile, a lot of the sweetness dissipates.
- 4-8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
Instructions
- I made this soup for lunch one day, so if your schedule looks different than mine, adjust everything accordingly.
- The day before you want to make the soup, soak the dry beans in plenty of water. I just added the beans to a large lidded container which I filled with water and put in the refrigerator all day.
- In the evening, before you go to bed, drain the beans and put them in the crockpot with the ham broth, 4 cups of water, onion, seasonings, and sweetener. Cook on low all night.
- In the morning, add another cup of water as well as the sliced mushrooms. Continue cooking on low until noon. Taste, and if you need to thin it down with more water, you may do so (this could vary depending on the saltiness of your ham broth). Serve and enjoy! Yields about 6-8 servings.
Notes
If you don't have dry beans or forget to soak them, canned beans could be substituted. I'm guessing you would need about 4 cups, but use as many as you like to make the soup the consistency you want. I suggest rinsing and draining the canned beans before adding them to the soup. The soup will not need to be cooked nearly as long because the canned beans are already quite soft. Just cook long enough to cook the onions and mushrooms and meld the flavors together.
Be sure to refrigerate the ham broth *overnight* before taking the fat off. This way you can be sure that all the fat rises to the surface.
Again, if you want to make this soup for supper, you could either just leave the crockpot on "keep warm" all afternoon or adjust the cooking temperatures and time frames according to your schedule. You could soak the beans all night and then assemble the soup in the morning. You may need to set the crockpot to "high" for an hour or two to soften the beans. Add the mushrooms a few hours before serving and continue to cook on low until suppertime.
Be sure to refrigerate the ham broth *overnight* before taking the fat off. This way you can be sure that all the fat rises to the surface.
Again, if you want to make this soup for supper, you could either just leave the crockpot on "keep warm" all afternoon or adjust the cooking temperatures and time frames according to your schedule. You could soak the beans all night and then assemble the soup in the morning. You may need to set the crockpot to "high" for an hour or two to soften the beans. Add the mushrooms a few hours before serving and continue to cook on low until suppertime.
Recipe by Briana Thomas at https://www.briana-thomas.com/ham-and-bean-soup/