I always look for ways to save a buck but still create good tasting meals and, because I am usually busy doing something, I try to use the crock pot as much as possible. This recipe is easy to make, cooks in the crock pot without tending to it, and tastes good.
One year I saved the ham bone after a celebration and, instead of making a pot of beans or split pea soup, I decided to try something a little different. I heard a friend talking about eating Taters n beans when he was a boy and it made me wonder what if I used green beans. Too easy. A few potatoes, ummm, and one ham bone. Not bad. Since then, I monkeyed around with the recipe. It is still as simple as before but you don’t have to wait for Christmas or Easter dinner to make it.
To feed a family of four, you need:
2 cans of green beans (15 ounce cans)
3 or 4 pounds of new potatoes, scrubbed and cut in chunks (you can use other potatoes but little red new potatoes are pretty. Yukon Gold is good, too)
2 1/2 pounds of ham (buy a ham when it is on sale and have the butcher cut it in four big, thick slices with the bone. You can use a picnic, too)
Black Pepper to taste
Rinse the ham and place in the crock pot. Set the crock pot on low.
Place the potatoes in the pot with the ham. Add the green beans. Sprinkle with about 1/4 tsp black pepper and let it cook. 
You can add more potatoes if you have hearty eaters. Corn bread, corn muffins, or biscuits go well with this dish.
Drop Biscuits (you can use canned)
Pretty easy. Good alternative to split pea soup (I love split pea but I need variety) after Christmas or Easter dinner.
Cost: The ham was on sale at $1.48 per pound. I bought the smallest one, $14.34, and had it cut into four pieces. $14.34/4 = $3.58 each. Two cans of green beans $0.60 each. 2 x 0.60 = $1.20. New potatoes were $0.40 per pound at the green grocer. I bought 2 pounds. $0.40 x 2 = $0.80.
Total: 5.58 or $1.39 per serving.
Enjoy!
