Pinto Beans With Ham for the Crock Pot

I used to spend all day cooking a pot of beans and watching them carefully so they didn't burn. The crock pot solves that problem. Serve a big bowl of these with big piece of cornbread...That's good eating.

• Ready In: 8 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1  lb dried pinto bean, sorted and washed
• 5  cups water
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 4 -8  ounces cooked ham, chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1  tablespoon chili powder
• 1  teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano
•  salt, to taste

Directions

1. Cover beans with water and soak overnight; drain.
2. Place beans in a 6 quart crock pot with water and remaining ingredients except salt. Cook on low setting for 8-10 hours, or until beans are soft and done. Stir a couple of times during cooking, if possible. Add salt after beans are done. Cooking salt in the beans will make them tough.
3. Note: The jalapenos will give your beans a bit of heat. You can control how hot you want them by the amount of pepper you add. If you want no heat, replace the jalapeno with 2 tablespoons of chopped green bell pepper.