Mexican Ham and Bean Soup

Leslie in Texas's Note:

Perfect for a cold, wintry evening or lunch! This is a filling, good "comfort" food soup that will make your whole kitchen smell wonderful! Serve with corn bread and a salad. From an issue of Cooking Light- it's become one of our favorites! This freezes well too.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 lb pinto beans
• 8 cups fat free chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups cubed smoked ham steaks
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, diced (freeze remaining chilies and use in chili or whatever)
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese or 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Sort and wash beans; place in large heavy pot.
2. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; bring to boil.
3. Cook 2 minutes; remove from heat.
4. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
5. Drain.
6. Or you may cover the beans with the same amount of water and let stand overnight.
7. Drain and proceed as follows.
8. Combine beans, broth, and next 8 ingredients (broth through garlic) in the large heavy pan and bring to a boil.
9. Partially cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
10. Simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender.
11. Stir in tomatoes, diced chilies,and liquid smoke, if desired.
12. Simmer 1 hour.
13. Discard bay leaves and serve.
14. Ladle soup into bowls and top with 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 tablespoon cilantro.

Reviews

[funthymecookin']

This was really great! Did not use the cooked beans - but rather the canned. To thicken it up, I took about 1 cup of the soup and mashed it up. The starches allowed the soup to thicken up nicely! Also, for the diced tomatoes - if you like spicy soup - use the diced tomatoes with green chilies and/or add a little bit of salsa. Great flavor and wonderful topped off with shredded cheese, a dollup of sour cream and extra cilantro! Thanks for a great recipe!

[aronsinvest]

Made this with the ham bone from Christmas. Turned out very nice. It makes a lot of soup. I did not add the cheese as it did not need it. Thanks.

[BethH]

Yummy way to use left over ham. Since there are only two of us now I cut the recipe in half and made it easy with canned pintos and dried onions. I liked topping the soup with the cheese but also sour cream and crushed tortilla chips rather than crackers. Thanks Leslie!