Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Ham and Pinto Beans

Ham and Pinto Beans
 
As normal for our family we fixed up beans on New Years day. While they were cooking I reminisced and told the kids the story of coming home from school to smell the beans that mom was cooking. Comfort food is what they call it and I can well agree it makes me feel comfortable and they taste like comfort as well. Ham and beans was something that mom would fix often and we would all enjoy. Corn bread and fried taters often accompanied the beans and together they were a delicious feast for all to enjoy.
 
If it is the first time that you will be preparing pinto beans don't worry it is easy enough to get done. Depending on the time you have to prepare your beans you can either soak your beans overnight or give them a quick soak the day of cooking. The beans will cook up in about 2 hours.
 
 

We had previously cooked a ham and saved the ham bone to use in our beans. The extra bits of meat and bone offer the beans more flavor.
 
HAM and PINTO BEANS

1. You must go through the beans by hand first. To do this, pour a small amount of beans on your counter and go through them looking for any tiny pebbles, dirt or bad beans. Throw those away and scoop the good beans into a colander. Rinse beans with water. Pour beans into a soup pot, and pour water over them to cover a couple of inches. Place lid on pot and let soak overnight.

2. When ready to cook, drain off all the water from the beans. Place the ham bone in the soup pot. Pour the drained beans into the pot. Then refill the pan with enough water to cover the beans at least an inch. At this time, add a small chopped onion. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until beans are tender. Check the beans fairly often as they really can use up the water, so you may need to add more water during cooking. So make sure the pan does not get dry and cause the beans to burn. Burned beans do not taste good! (I learned this from experience too!) Beans are done when you can easily smash them with a fork, or taste them to check tenderness. In my altitude, the beans are done in less than 2 hours.

3. Carefully remove the ham bone from the soup. When cool enough to handle, remove the ham from the bone and take off any fat that may be still attached. Add the ham pieces back to the soup. I then taste them to see how much salt and pepper to add.

4. As you can see, this is a very basic method. If you like beans with a kick, add some seeded hot peppers while cooking. My Mother sometime added a dried Bay leaf to the pot. It just depends on what you like. My husband and I love to eat our Ham and Pinto Beans with a spoonful of spicy salsa added. Delicious! If you haven't cooked dried beans before, I hope you'll give these a try. They are not only tasty, but healthy as well. Enjoy!

NOTE: IF the beans are almost done and there happens to be more liquid than you want in the pot, just remove the lid and let the broth cook down some.

24 comments:

  1. I love the Pinto Beans, it would be perfect for my diet.

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  2. My family would love this Ham and Pinto Beans. I'm gonna try this.

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  3. Ham and beans? Oh yeah! I love this recipe

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  4. It is soup weather. A bean soup sounds so yummy.

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  5. with all the rain i'm getting this looks so perfect to help keep me warm and full

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  6. I never knew about this recipe. but it sounds good especially for the cold weather

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  7. This sure looks yummy and perfect for the cold weather! I'd love to try this recipe. I'm sure my kids would love it.

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  8. I love pinto beans especially in soup.

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  9. Definitely sounds like comfort food. Glad you guys liked it :)

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  10. I love beans...this looks like something out of Jamaica...LOL

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  11. This looks so tasty! I am not a fan of beans, but this is worth a try.

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  12. We make something similar to this - most Saturdays in my memory - back in Jamaica! Delicious!

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    Replies
    1. My daughter like Jamaican Stew Peas similar to this recipe using smoke turkey or oxtail.

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  13. Both great recipes. They are making my mouth water just looking at them. ;)

    Thanks for Sharing.

    John @ daddyphotoblog.com

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  14. Your recipe Ham & Pinto beans look delicious on to of rice you can't go wrong...Only thing is not a pork eating so I have to use #turkey

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  15. Wow I would love to try this at home, still have some ham in our freezer :)

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  16. This is a great warm comforting meal that reminds me of my childhood. my mom would use lima beans and potatoes which made this even more delicious. Thanks for sharing your version.

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  17. Just this year I learned that beans were a New Years tradition. I love beans in any form!

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  18. I am no fan of beans but I must say, this is mouthwatering.

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  19. I remember my mom soaking beans overnight. Comfort food at its finest. :)

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  20. I've never been much of a fan of ham but this looks pretty darn good!

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  21. This looks so amazing! This sounds like something I'd love to make with my wife.

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  22. This is quite easily my husband's favorite soup to have for dinner! I'll have to try your recipe!

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  23. I love making Ham and Bean soup with the ham bone from a big family dinner! This sounds like a yummy recipe.

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