White Bean and Ham Soup

SO sorry this blog has taken a back seat to everything else going on in my life. I haven't been cooking much more than I need to lately, but this is one thing I have enjoyed making over the last few years that's easy and delicious. I'm hoping to share some more of my meals in the coming months and update this with a picture.

This is one of my very favorite soups! I make it probably once every two months or so, but I'd make it more if my family liked soup for dinner more. (I often give the leftover soup to a good friend whose family really likes it too!)

I use dry beans for this (mostly because I like to be thrifty and since I make it in the crockpot, it's not too hard to start with dry beans.)

I also slice baby carrots, but regular carrots work as well. I sometimes slice a whole bag of baby carrots and freeze them if they are starting to get dried out in the fridge (kids never like eating dry carrots even though they are perfectly fine.)

For the ham I found that most grocery stores carry a package of diced ham for just as cheap as buying a ham alone and cutting it up yourself, so I buy a package and normally have an extra one that I put in the freezer so I'm always ready to make this soup on a rainy day.

Ingredients:
-2 pound bag dry white beans
-2 cups sliced baby carrots
-2 cans chicken broth
-8 cups water (to cook the beans)
-12-16 oz diced Ham
-1/2 cup diced onion (or onion powder if you prefer that)
-1 teaspoon pepper
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon red pepper powder or flakes (more if you want it to be more spicy)

 Instructions: Use large crockpot (6 quarts). Put all ingredients in and set it on high for five-six hours. Put it on low when the beans and carrots are soft. Add more seasoning if needed an hour or so before serving.

Add other vegetables like spinach if you like. Serve with bread or rolls or just with crackers and enjoy.