"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing..." -Helen Keller
 
I remember going to Grammy's home as a little girl. She made some great meals. One meal, however, of which I was not such a fan, was 16 bean soup. Not exactly my cup of tea.

Some 15 years later, however, I hit the bean section of the supermarket to buy the ingredients for some bean soup of my own. (And to think I never believed my mom when she claimed that my taste buds would change and grow as I did!)

I bought 4 types of beans, shown below, and set them in water to soak overnight. The next morning, I rinsed the beans and used them to fill the majority of our crock pot. I didn't measure, but there were probably 6-8 cups of beans once they'd soaked.

Ingredients:
beans (6-8 cups of your desired variety)
6-10 slices ham, chopped
1-2 cups chopped veggies
water
1/2 t. salt
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. chili powder
3 Tablespoons chicken flavoring granules
I took this opportunity to clear out the random odds and ends of veggies I had in the refrigerator, which consisted of half a large carrot, 4 stalks of celery, and a potato. Chop, chop, chop, into the crock pot you go.
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I stirred it up, added 6 slices of chopped ham lunch meat, 3 1/2 cups water, 3 Tablespoons chicken flavoring granules, 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder, and 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder. Later I added 1/2 teaspoon salt and some more water to make up for what steamed off during cooking. I cooked it for about 6 hours. (Cooking on low would be ideal. I was concerned about the beans getting soft enough, so I cooked them on high at first, but then had to reduce the heat and finally turn the crock pot off altogether to prevent mushiness.)
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