Southern Lima Beans With Rice

• 1 (1 lb) bag regular lima beans or (1 lb) bag baby lima beans
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ham hocks or 1 leftover ham bone, with some meat still on it
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. I know the bag says to soak the beans overnight, but you really don't have to.
2. Wash the beans, and then put them in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover and let it sit for 1 hour.
3. After the beans have sat, drain the water and sit the beans to the side.
4. Add the oil to the pot and saute the ham hocks and onions together, until onion is clear and tender, add garlic and saute about 2 minutes more. Add the beans and cover with water.
5. Add pepper and salt--only about 1 teaspoon of salt at first.
6. Bring to a boil; stir, reduce heat and cover and simmer for about 2 hours.
7. Keep checking the water level and stirring every once in a while. Add more water if needed, but not too much.
8. Just enough to keep about 1 inch of water above the beans as they cook.
9. Cook until beans are tender, adding more salt if needed. The water will turn into a wonderful gravy. Serve over rice.

regular lima beans, onion, ham hocks, garlic, black pepper, salt, olive oil

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/southern-lima-beans-with-rice-51795 (may not work)