Sunday, September 27, 2015

Six Ham Bones...

simmered on the stove the better part of the day.  Fished them out of the broth, let them cool and picked the meat from the bones.  Cut the ham into bite sized pieces, bagged them up in Ziploc bags and stored the bags in the fridge.  Strained the broth to get out any bone and gristle bits and returned it to the stock pot.  Added some chicken bouillon for more flavor and found room for the pot in the fridge as well.  Dumped 2 1/2 quarts of dry Great Northern beans into another pot, covered them with water and set them to soak overnight.

In the morning I drained the beans and added them to the broth.  Threw in some of my dehydrated chopped onion and some dehydrated, shredded carrots.  Added a bit of granulated garlic just because.  About halfway through the cooking process I added the ham pieces.

At this point you have probably figured out that I don't have a recipe.  Everyone has their own method of making ham and beans.  Some add diced tomato or tomato juice and some have other ingredients they like to use.  It is all according to taste.  I tend to keep it simple.  That's the way my family likes it.

The soup simmers on the stove until the beans are tender, stirred now and then to keep it from scorching.  Some day I will invest in the more expensive stock pots so I won't have problems with burning whatever I cook in them, but for now I make do with what I have.  And do a lot of stirring.

When the soup is done, I set aside enough for a couple of meals and ladle the rest into quart jars.  They are processed in my pressure canner for 90 minutes.  I wound up with 11 quarts of fantastically delicious ham and beans.  Tomorrow morning I will wash the jars and label them with the contents and date.

The cheapskate in me loves that the meat was a bonus left over from canning ham a couple of weeks ago.  Beans are still relatively inexpensive.  The onions and carrots were purchased on sale and dried using my dehydrators.  And I now have more meals that will feed us, no matter how high grocery prices get or no matter what happens around us.  Add a pan of cornbread and we will eat well.

8 comments:

  1. I think I have to stop reading your posts...I'm hungry. Its been a long time since I've had home made soup. My wife tryed a chicken noodle soup and it didn't turn out well. Now that the weather will turn cooler tomorrow we will be baking more hot dishes. I'm craving tater tote hot dish something bad....Going to cook up some dogs on the grill now.....:)

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  2. Rob...Yeah, I know I do a lot of food posts. Probably because canning season is still going strong. I use my crock pot and dehydrated vegetables for most soups. Mine weren't the best either until I started using chicken bouillon in them for flavor. My oven hasn't been used much this summer. Even with air, it still heats up my apartment. I like the old Minnesota standby of "Hotdish." Make them more fall and winter. Now, thanks to you, I'm gonna have to get some tater tots! :)

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  3. Sounds great, Vicki. I've started freezing chicken bones from our meals. After I've saved up enough, I will use them to make and can chicken broth. I used to throw the bones out, but recently it just seemed like such a waste, so now I am keeping them. Thanks for the 'recipe', it sounds very similar to ours.

    Fern

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  4. Fern...Thank you for the chicken bone idea. I hadn't thought about saving them from meals, but it makes sense. I buy whole chickens when they go on sale and after cutting one up for fried chicken, I freeze the back, neck, etc. to use later to make broth. I don't like waste, either. My Dad used to say that when his family butchered a hog, they used everything except the "oink." Guess I come by my frugality honestly. :)

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  5. Gorges...I know what you're talking about. I read other people's blogs about the wonderful things they cook or bake, and I find myself nearly drooling. :)

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  6. Vicki, keep this up and I'll be moving in..... you've been warned. :)

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  7. Matt...Well, OK. But only if you know how to wash dishes and do laundry. Otherwise, no deal! :)

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