Saturday, August 16, 2014

Hillbilly Bean Soup from the Ozarks

This recipe was found in the Missouri Ozarks where it is a homey, comforting cool-weather favorite. 
1 ½ cups packaged bean mixture
2 tsp. salt
1 lb. ham, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 carrot, small diced
1 onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 green pepper
2 slices of pickled jalapeno peppers
2 tsp. pickled jalapeno pepper juice
1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes
 Rinse bean mixture in colander thoroughly. Place beans in large pot and cover with water. Soak overnight. (You can also use the quick-soak method by bringing the beans to a hard boil, remove from heat and let them stand for 1 hour.)
 If soaking,  remove beans from refrigerator next morning, place beans in crockpot and add boiling water to a level of two-thirds full.
 Add ham, garlic, carrot, onion, lemon juice, green pepper, jalapeno pepper and pepper juice. Cook for 2 hours on high, and then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for additional 4 hours. Add tomatoes and continue cooking for another 2 hours.