Those of you who follow me on Facebook know about these hams I get at Costco.  I love them for lots of reasons…..not only are they delicious, but they are cheaper.  All meat, and about $10.  I have made them lots of ways, but yesterday for Easter I put two of them into a crockpot, along with 1 can crushed pineapple (not the little can), and 2 cups brown sugar.  I cooked this on high for 5 hours, then sliced on a platter and ended up with a beautiful presentation, and about 5 cups of sweet pineapple sauce.  I took 2 cups of the juice and thickened it with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and made a nice thick sauce to pour over the ham.  But I STILL had a lot of juice left…….and as the Matter’s*  know, I NEVER throw anything away. ( *The Matter’s were some of my all-time favorite neighbors, with whom I had many good natured arguments about expiration dates on bottles, cans, jars…….I literally have mayonnaise from 2001 that I still use).  (just kidding about that, but I do stretch those limits).   Anyway, I digress.  Here is what I did with my leftover liquid (including the thickened part I still had some left of)

1 lb. white dry beans (I always bring some water to a boil and pour the dry beans in, cover, and soak overnight).  I’m not sure if this step is necessary, especially since I am now using a pressure cooker quite a bit (thank you, Christian).  But that’s what I did.

Drain beans, and add the leftover ham juice (about 3 or 4 cups).  I also had some scraps of ham left on the platter that I threw in.  Then I put it all in the pressure cooker and cooked it on high for 18 minutes.  OMIGOSH!!!   A new taste treat!  No other seasonings, nothing fancy.  I usually always make bean hot and spicy with lots of Mexican flavors, so this was new for me.  They came out a lot like my mother’s BBQ beans…sweet and just delish!

Now you are going to ask me how you would do this if you didn’t have 5 cups of delicious ham/brown sugar/pineapple sauce……I would soak my beans, put them in the pressure cooker, and add the SMALL can of crushed pineapple, a cup of ham or chicken broth and 1 cup brown sugar.  You really want that ham flavor too so hold on with this one until you make a ham.   Use every bit of drippings (even if you have a bone) and add them to the pot.  I also have some ham soup base I get at Smart and Final that I might add ONE TBS. to the pot.  Add more later if it’s not tasty.  But boy this was a nice surprise for an old lady to make something new that turned out so well!