Ice Storm Soup

Last night after hearing the forecast for today, the girl of the house said,
" Mama, we are gonna need some soup 'cause the ice is coming." So, since I still had the ham bone from Thanksgiving in the freezer and a bag of 15 bean soup mix, I obliged.

Here's what I did:

1 bag 15 bean soup mix
1 medium onion
1 ham bone with meat or 2 cups chopped ham, or a smoked ham hock ( best)
1/2 lb sliced smoked sausage, browned.
1 can rotel tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
Salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash spicy seasoning

1. In a big pot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add the rinsed beans and allow to boil for about 15 minutes. Turn off and let sit for about 30 minutes. This is the "fast soak" method.
2. In a big crock pot, put the ham bone or the ham hock in with the onion and beans. Cover with water or chicken broth. Cook on low overnight, or all day, whatever you need to do.
3. When the beans are tender, add the tomatoes and browned sausage, bell pepper and seasoning. Taste the broth to see how much salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash that you might want to add. I can't tell you how much to use because it really depends on how salty the ham was and how much you like. If you mess up and get it too salty, just open a can of beans and dump them in.
4. Allow to simmer in crock pot with the lid off to reduce and thicken the juice for a couple of hours. It is worth the wait, if you like beans and pork. If you don't, call Pizza Hut.

You could probably add some corn or whatever to this if you like. It is good like it is, but I figure there is always room for improvement.

Don't forget to make the cornbread to go along with this!