Crockpot Lima Bean, Pork, and Parsley Soup

2 lbs dried large lima beans
1.23 lbs smoked pork shoulder steak
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
3-4 tbsp dried parsley (or a bunch of fresh parsley chopped)
1-1.5 tsp dried thyme (or 3-4 dried bay leaves or 1-1.5 tsp ground bay)
8 cups of water (or enough to cover it all in the Crockpot)
Season Salt and Pepper to taste

Soak the dried lima beans over night. In the morning drain the beans, discard any broken or otherwise unappealing beans/ any pebbles or other debris in the beans. Rinse the beans off in a colander and then put the beans in the Crockpot. Take the pork shoulder steak, chopped it up into bite size pieces, removing any excess fat, and brown in a skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Put pork shoulder in Crockpot. Next dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sautee in pork fat and olive oil then put onion and garlic in Crockpot. Then sprinkle in parsley, thyme, pepper, and season salt to taste. Cover it all with water and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or until the beans are tender.

If you want, when the beans are done, mash some of them against the sides of the Crockpot with a large fork and stir to thicken the soup. Also, if you use a Bay leaf, take it out before serving. You may also add a touch of milk or cream before serving to thicken the soup (not included in Nutrition information).

Makes roughly 8 two cup servings.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user HEALTHYNYU.