Stewed Baby Lima Beans

By bklynmommy

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried, green baby lima beans
• 6 slices of thick cut bacon, sliced
• 2 cups of diced, cooked ham
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 1/8 cup of sliced pickled jalapenos, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 medium sized bay leaves
• 6 cups of water, chicken broth or a combination
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Couple of dashes of hot pepper sauce

Details

Adapted from deepsouthdish.com

Preparation

Step 1

Soak beans overnight and drain. Saute the bacon with the ham in the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven or soup pot, over medium high heat, for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook another 3 minutes or until onion is softened. Add the garlic; cook another minute. Deglaze the pot with a splash of the water, scraping up all of the browned bits on the bottom. Add the remaining water and bring to a boil. Add the beans and bay leaves, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover partially and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until tender and creamy, adding additional water only as needed to keep the beans covered by about 1/2 inch.

Remove bay leaves and season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and hot sauce; taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve as a side dish, or over rice as a main dish, along with a mixed garden salad and some southern cornbread.

~Cook's Notes~

As with most all beans, the time they take to cook will be dependent on how fresh or old the beans are. Fresh beans will cook much quicker than beans that have been hanging around your pantry or the store shelves awhile.

Crockpot: Prepare as above. Transfer to a slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours, or low for 11 to 12 hours, stirring at 8 if possible.

Quick Boil Method: Rinse and sort beans and place into a deep pot, adding water to cover beans plus two inches. Do not add any seasonings or salt! Bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes uncovered, turn off heat, cover and let