Many Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried red beans
1/4 cup dried small white beans
1/4 cup dried pinto bean
1/4 cup dried kidney beans
1/4 cup dried cranberry beans
1/4 cup dried baby lima beans
1/4 cup dried black-eyed peas
1/4 cup dried split peas
1/4 cup dried yellow split peas
1/4 cup dried red lentils
1/4 cup dried brown lentils
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 (15 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with their juice
1 smoked ham hock or 1 ham bone
8 cups chicken broth or 8 cups vegetable broth
salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preparation

Soak the red, white, pinto, kidney, cranberry, lima beans, and black-eyed peas overnight in water to cover.
Drain and rinse well.
Add the soaked beans, split peas, and lentils to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
Add the remaining ingredients up through the broth; stir to combine.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, until the beans are tender and the ham is falling off the bone.
Remove the ham hock or bone from the soup; chop any meat, removing the fat, and return the meat to the slow cooker.
Season with salt and pepper; remove the bay leaf before serving.