The ingredients: (Ham bone not pictured). The green beans had the ends trimmed and cut cross-wise into bite-size pieces.
The ham bone in the slow-cooker. Notice that a good bit of meat is still on the bone; this is important to get enough flavor into the beans during cooking.
Don't leave too much meat on, but the bone shouldn't be bare, either.
Beans and ham bone together:
Seasonings (S&P, garlic powder, and onion powder) added to the cooker. Salt is not mandatory, and if you do add some, use a light hand with it, since the ham bone should already be pretty salty.
Water added to barely cover the beans and ham:
It's not necessary to complete submerge everything, since the beans will settle as the cook.
Lid on and cooker is tucked away for the next 9-10 hours until dinnertime:
Note: If you plan on making this on a weekday morning before leaving for work, I recommend prepping the beans the night before, as there is a good bit of trimming involved. Prepping the ~2.5# of beans above took me 20+ minutes.
Once prepped, this dish can be quickly assembled in the slow cooker in 5 minutes.