Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

My parents sent us home with a ham after Christmas. I was so good! But we wanted to do something with the ham bone when we finished with the ham. We found this recipe and tried it last week. It has so much flavor!

Notes: This recipe does require some preparation since the beans need to soak overnight. If you don't like spicy foods, leave out the anaheim pepper. If you don't have a ham bone, you can substitute vegetable stock for the water.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
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

Method:
*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.

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.
About 1 hour before serving, add the salt and fresh ground pepper. Stir and put the lid back on. Immediately before serving, take out the ham bone and use an immersion blender to stir the ingredients together and break some of the beans. It is very creamy and can be served with sour cream, cheese, and corn chips.