Black Bean and Ham Soup

At the start of autumn, Mel noticed this magazine at the register at Whole Foods and snatched it up.  

 

It has yielded some great recipes for the chilly weather, including this one for Black Bean and Ham Soup.

The Ingredients:

The Process:

 

 One might hear "ham shank" and fear that it is a fatty unhealthy protein.  But it's surprisingly not bad at all, especially when you consider how many servings it will be broken into in the soup.  We found this great shank at our fav Whole Foods, and are quite pleased with the minimum ingredients/maximum flavor scenario.

One great thing about this recipe is that it does not involve canned beans.  We avoid canned items as much as possible.  Another great thing is:  IT'S SO EASY!  The beans, shank, and other ingredients start out looking like this:

 

And after a few hours of slow cooking magic, the shank has cooked into this tender, fall-off-the-bone/melt-in-your-mouth goodness.  

 

Shred up the meat, 

 

put it back in the slow cooker with the beans to let them mix together for a bit, and you have yourself an AMAZING and nutritious soup!