Beans & Ham Muffins

The tiny little piece of country in girl me ♥ a big 'ol bowl of beans with cornbread on the side. Brown beans are a big nasty no over here in Casa de Beasty but I do love me some navy beans.

My favorite way to make them is to let them simmer in the crockpot for about 8 hours. I follow a pretty simple recipe:

1/2 a bag, give or take, of navy beans; sorted & rinsed.
{Any more than 1/2 a bag ends up going to waste in our house, so I am able to make 2 full meals out of 1 bag of beans.}
3 fat slices of salt pork, cut into thin strips & fried.
1/2 an onion, sliced in chunks & fried in the salt pork grease.
Generous palmful of kosher salt
Generous sprinkle of pepper
32oz chicken broth
Water, as needed

After sorting & rinsing the beans, put in crockpot & cover with about 16oz of chicken broth. Fry the salt pork, add to pot. Fry the onion in the salt pork grease then add to the pot. Add salt & pepper & any other seasonings you want. Fill the crockpot to 3/4 full with water.

As the beans cook during the day, stir periodically, replenishing fluid level with equal parts chicken broth & water.

I generally cook mine on high for about 4 hours to get the cooking process started, then turn the heat down to low for another 3-4 hours, until the beans reach the tenderness we like.

Now the old, poor college student me used to just whip up a box of Jif cornbread mix to accompany this meal. Really...how can you turn down a box of cornbread that only costs $0.33? Now, I still enjoy the sweet sugary goodness of Jif on occasion, but I've fallen in love with these muffins & they have replaced my old standby at almost every occasion.



{Taken from the "Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking" cookbook}

Ham 'n Cheese Muffins
1/3C finely chopped onion
1Tbs butter
2C shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 1/2C reduced-fat biscuit/baking mix
1/2C fat-free milk
1 egg, beaten
1C finely chopped fully cooked ham {I've also substituted turkey}

1. In a nonstick skillet, saute the onion in butter until tender; set aside. In a large bowl {I rely on my KitchenAid mixer for any & every mixing task}, combine the cheese & biscuit mix. Stir in the milk & egg just until moistened. Fold in the ham & onion.

2. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; feel 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

I've also substituted good 'ol pancake mix when I was completely out of baking mix & they were just as good, if not better! These are great alongside a bowl of beans or chili, or even for breakfast with some scrambled eggs.



The best part about this meal? It's ridiculously cheap & usually lasts us for 2 meals. It's also fairly healthy & could be even healthier if I left out the fried salt pork.