Haute Crafty Creations: Beans and Ham Recipe

I always wanted to learn how to cook some mean beans and ham. My Mom makes the absolute BEST! So of course, I went to her. With her help, I came up with my own version. The ingredients and instructions are below. I don’t think they will ever be as good as Mom’s. However, they turned out delish!

HAM Ingredients:

8 – 10lb bone-in ham

1 Tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds or ground mustard

¼ - ½ cup of honey

3 or 4 garlic cloves (minced) or 2 Tablespoons minced garlic from jar

1 Tablespoon onion powder

PINTO BEAN Ingredients:

32 oz. bag of pinto beans

1 large carton of chicken broth

1 large carton of beef broth

2 Tablespoons of chili powder

2 Tablespoons of packed light brown sugar

4 garlic cloves (minced) or 2 Tablespoons minced garlic from jar

1 onion

1 jalapeno

pepper

sea salt

CORNBREAD Ingredients:

2 packages of yellow cornbread mix (requires 2 eggs and 1 1/3 cup of milk)

¼ cup sugar

cooking oil spray

(Also see my Mom’s cornbread recipe below for more ingredient options)

First, prep the pinto beans. You will need to sort through them for rocks and bad beans. Wash them and then soak them in a large cooking pot of water overnight. Make sure the water is at least 3 to 4 inches above the beans.

Next, prepare the ham in a crock pot. It only takes 4 hours and turns out juicier than in the oven. Throw the ham in your crock pot with the large side down first. Trim off as much of the top as needed to fit the lid on the crock pot. Save the excess ham for other recipes. The ham is pre-cooked so no worries. I ended up with a few good chunks for omelets, salads, etc. Just dice it and eat it up!

Add the spices to your ham: 1 Tablespoon of Yellow mustard seeds or ground mustard, ¼ - ½ cup of honey, 3 or 4 garlic cloves (minced) or 2 Tablespoons minced garlic from jar and 1 Tablespoon onion powder. . I just pour it all over the top. Cook on low for four hours. After 2 hours, glaze the ham real well with the glaze in the bottom of the crock pot.

Let the ham cool. Slice the ham for sandwiches, etc. Reserve the ham bone, fats and ham chunks for the pinto beans.

When the ham is done, begin preparing the pinto beans. Drain and rinse the beans. Clean your cooking pot. Add the beans back to the large cooking pot. Begin adding all of the bean ingredients, except the sea salt: 1 large carton of chicken broth, 1 large carton of beef broth, 2 Tablespoons of chili powder, 2 Tablespoons of packed light brown sugar, 4 garlic cloves (minced) or 2 Tablespoons minced garlic from jar, 1 onion (diced), 1 jalapeno (diced with or without seeds) and pepper (to taste). Add the reserved ham bone, fats and ham chunks with any additional water needed to completely cover the beans approximately 2 inches over the top. Begin cooking the beans on high until they reach a rolling boil. I let them boil about 10 minutes, then turn it down to low, cover with a lid and simmer for the remaining 3 hours cooking time. Stir every 30 minutes and make sure you do not need to add any more water.

When the beans are ready, carefully remove the ham bone. If there is any remaining ham on the bone, remove it and put it back in the beans. All of the ham fell right off the bone when I picked it up. I also removed any excess fat floating on the top, shredded the ham chunks and pieces and stirred it all up.

To save time, begin making the cornbread thirty minutes before the beans are ready. Per my Mom, Aunt Jamima Yellow Corn Bread Meal (use recipe on the back and add 6 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon chili powder and /or diced jalapeno) is better. However, I had two packages of yellow corn bread mix. Prepared as instructed with ¼ cup of sugar added, it was delicious. Be sure to oil and preheat your skillet or baking pan for 10 minutes. It makes a world of difference.

With the food all prepared, I did not waste any time. Sat my butt down (at 4am) and ate a huge bowl before I started cleaning up and putting things away. LOL A true Southern girl, I LOVE beans and ham! ENJOY :)

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~ Christi T
May God bless the work of your hands! :)

Crafty creations, projects and tips for everyday needs, gifts, decorating, do it yourself projects, party planning, cooking and more valuable resources and information are free online. I love to share my crafty finds with you. For more free resources and tips follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and/or Twitter.

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God Bless You! :)