Ham, Beans, and Corn Muffins, Oh My!

My mother always used to make ham and beans in the Fall.  There is something really comforting about coming home to a delicious dinner in a crock pot. I totally winged this recipe and it turned out amazingly well. If you're looking for a simple, inexpensive meal, this recipe is for you! Here's a little comfort from my kitchen to yours!

What you'll need:

1 lb dry great northern beans
2 lbs cooked turkey ham, cut into 1 inch cubes {I cut the edges off the ham}
1 small onion, diced
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. dried parsley
salt and fresh ground pepper

What you'll do:

First, you'll need to give your beans a good rinsing. I ran mine through warm water for a couple of minutes. I read somewhere that soaking the beans isn't necessary, so I decided to skip this long procedure. After rinsing the beans, put them in the slow cooker with 3 cups of water. Add all of the remaining ingredients and  stir the mixture well.

Turn the slow cooker on high for about 6 hours. While the ham and beans are cooking, you may need to add more water-- just enough to cover the ham and beans. After 6 hours on high, I reduced the slow-cooker temperature to low and let it cook for an additional 2 hours. You may need to adjust the timing and temperature depending on your slow-cooker. Each slow-cooker is different. The beans are ready to eat when they are soft.

Ham and beans just aren't the same without cornbread! I picked up a box of jiffy and substituted the egg for 1/4 c. of eggbeaters, used skim milk instead of 2%, and tossed in about a tbsp. of sugar {I normally don't like to add sugar to foods, but it makes the bread taste AMAZING!} I sprayed some PAM into a muffin tin for 6 and 15 minutes later, dinner is served.

One serving size is about a cup of beans {220 calories}, 2-3 oz of turkey ham {~100 calories}, and one corn muffin {150 calories}.

It's comforting eating comfort foods that are under 500 calories! ENJOY!

~B