Five Pepper Ham Bone Soup

From Andrea's Kitchen

Ingredients

16 ounces dry black beans
2 quarts water
bone from a large ham
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 anaheim pepper, minced
2 chipotle peppers, minced
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks (or a 15-ounce/434 g can of diced tomatoes with the juice)
1 teaspoon chili powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
water, enough to just cover the other ingredients
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preparation

1. The night before you make the soup, pick through the beans and remove any bad ones. Put the beans into the pot and add 2 quarts of water. Remove the beans that float. Allow to soak overnight. Drain.

2. Place the ham bone in the bottom of the slow cooker pot. Add the soaked beans, all the peppers, onion, tomatoes, chili powder, and garlic. Add water, just enough to cover everything. Put on the lid and cook on high for about 6 to 7 hours or on low for 9 to 10 hours, until the beans are tender.

3. About 1 hour before serving, add the salt and fresh ground pepper. Stir and put the lid back on.

4. Turn off the heat and ladle into bowls. Serve with cornbread.

Variations

Vegan: Omit the ham bone and use a rich vegetable stock instead of water.

Crisper peppers: The peppers and onions will be very soft after a long cooking time. If you prefer a bit more snap in your soup, hold them until the last hour or so of cooking.

Note's From Jill's Kitchen: I ADDED WAY TOO MUCH SPICE. Like, way. Like, I had to add cans and cans of extra tomatoes to dilute it and make it edible. Next time let's cut outs some of the chili peppers, mmmmmkay???