Many Bean Soup

Submitted by ratherbeswimmin

"In ' Slow Cooker' by Diane Phillips. The choice of beans is up to you; can buy beans at health food store where they have bulk-food bins, so you buy only what you need. Or you can buy the prepackaged multi-bean mix sold in regular grocery stores."

 

• Ready In: 10hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 21
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup dried red beans
• 1⁄4 cup dried small white beans
• 1⁄4 cup dried pinto bean
• 1⁄4 cup dried kidney beans
• 1⁄4 cup dried cranberry beans
• 1⁄4 cup dried baby lima beans
• 1⁄4 cup dried black-eyed peas
• 1⁄4 cup dried split peas
• 1⁄4 cup dried yellow split peas
• 1⁄4 cup dried red lentils
• 1⁄4 cup dried brown lentils
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (15 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with their juice
• 1 smoked ham hock or 1 ham bone
• 8 cups chicken broth or 8 cups vegetable broth
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

directions

1. Soak the red, white, pinto, kidney, cranberry, lima beans, and black-eyed peas overnight in water to cover.
2. Drain and rinse well.
3. Add the soaked beans, split peas, and lentils to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
4. Add the remaining ingredients up through the broth; stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, until the beans are tender and the ham is falling off the bone.
6. Remove the ham hock or bone from the soup; chop any meat, removing the fat, and return the meat to the slow cooker.
7. Season with salt and pepper; remove the bay leaf before serving.