Ham and Bean Soup

 

1/2 pound dried pinto beans
1/2 pound dried small red beans
8 cups of cold water
1 ham bone, with some meat still attached (I used the one from a spiral ham)
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups baby carrots

Sort any debris out of dried beans, then soak them overnight in a large bowl with about 15 cups of cold water. Rise beans in the morning with cold water.

Put beans, water, ham bone, garlic, onion, and pepper into the crockpot.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Add carrots in for the last 2 hours of cooking time.
No extra salt is needed due to the saltiness of the ham.
When the soup is done cooking, remove bones, and fat pieces from soup.
Break up any large chunks of ham into smaller pieces.
You can refrigerate soup overnight, and then scrap the fat off of the top of the soup to make it less fattening, since ham isn't the leanest of meats!