Easy Hamhock And Bean Soup!

• 4 packaged ham hocks
• 1 1/2 cups of dry beans (I prefer pinto beans or navy beans)
• 3 large red potatoes, diced
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• salt and pepper

1. .In a crock pot let the beans sit on low in water for about an hour till they are a little soft (make sure they are not to soft, they should still not be edible!).
2. Place thawed ham hocks and beans into a large cooking pot and fill the pot half way with water and turn the heat on medium-medium high heat. Let it start to boil and make sure to stir every now and then (the beans like to stick to the pot.
3. When it's boiled for about 10 minutes place in potatoes and let boil till the potatoes start to soften.
4. After the potatoes have started to soften throw in the the carrots and onions and stir in the chicken bouillon cube.
5. Let boil another 20 or 30 minutes then add salt and pepper to taste, and let the heat down to low.
6. Warning! If you don't turn the heat down or off the beans will turn the whole soup into mush!
7. With a sharp knife and a pair of tongs, grab the ham hocks (warning hot!) and start cutting off the good meat from the bone (I always leave in a little bit of fat for taste, not for eating though). Careful these suckers are slippery so use a cutting board. Discard bones once the meat has been removed (or give them to your dogs as a treat).
8. Once the meaty chunks have been stirred in you can serve hot with cornbread! YUM!

ham hocks, beans, red potatoes, carrots, onion, chicken, salt

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/easy-hamhock-and-bean-soup-476817 (may not work)