It’s Monday night. And time for another $5 Dinner Challenge! This week’s slow cooker meal comes from Jennifer.
Jennifer is wife to Jason and mom to five-year-old Emma. She blogs at Saving and Giving where she encourages people to save money and be generous.
Ingredients
1 pound dry black beans
1/2 pound diced ham
5 cups of water*
5 tsp. chicken bouillon*
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
*You can substitute 5 c. of chicken broth for the water and bouillon.
Directions
1. Soak black beans overnight. Drain and rinse beans. Place in a pan, cover with water, and simmer on low for an hour. Drain beans again.
2. Place all ingredients except cornstarch in the slow cooker.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours. (Erin’s note here: From what I know about slow cooking beans, it won’t hurt to cook them longer…say if you’ll be at work all day. Cook them longer, then proceed with directions below.)
4. After 4 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove 1 cup of cooked beans and ham. Place them in a blender or food processor with a little bit of the broth. Puree, and return to the pot. Whisk pureed bean mixture into the broth.
5. Combine cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl. Mix. Add to the slow cooker. Mix with a whisk.
6. Let cook for an additional 30 minutes or until broth thickens a bit.
Print This Post
__________________________________________________
Have a Frugal and Healthy Recipe to share?
Post the recipe on your blog and then add the link below. Other guidelines can be found here. To make it easy for other readers to find your recipe, please leave the link that leads directly to your recipe post. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave your recipe in the comments section!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: HoosierHomemade
March 22, 2010 at 7:13 pm
That sounds good! Great for the upcoming leftover Easter ham!
Thanks so much for hosting!
~Liz
I am trying really hard to add more beans into our diet. So far, no success. But we’ll keep on trying. Thanks for the recipe!
Twitter: michelle961
March 22, 2010 at 7:55 pm
yum….I love black bean soup and I have everything for this particular recipe…thanks for sharing!
Twitter: AleasLeftovers
March 22, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Black bean soup is a favorite at our house! For some reason the last time I made it (from my memory, which is faulty at best) I made it too hot, I think I will use your seasonings as a guideline as it looks flavorful, but without the bite of some bean soups.
Erin, just dropping in and saying hi and gonna use some of your recipes from new cookbook this week, finally.
I posted about my coupon binder and there’s a link to your coupon binder post. Thanks for your inspiration!!
http://grandmabeckyl.blogspot.com/2010/03/coupon-binder-system.html
Can you use something other than ham? Maybe turkey bacon?
I am so excited to make this black bean soup. The days my daughter has dance I have “slow cooker recipe day.” This helps us to get out the door on time. I will add this to my recipe list. Thanks!
I wonder why the recipe calls for soaking THEN cooking for an hour THEN putting in the crockpot. Seems like a lot of work. When I cook beans in the crockpot, I just soak them and then cook for about 4 hours on high. Seems like I could do that for this soup too.
Any thoughts? I am going to make this for my in-laws on Tues and don’t want to mess it up.
Twitter: prairieecothrif
March 29, 2010 at 12:25 pm
This black bean soup sounds delicious. For another pulses recipe check out my blog. The Curry Chickpea with Rice dish is great. It’s easy, quick and cheap.