Raise your hand if you have a little leftover ham from the holiday. I had some ham and a ham bone that I heard was good for flavoring soup. It has been cold here in the Treasure Valley so I thought a nice ham and bean soup would warm us up.

Add all ingredients and stir.

See all the water on the top? Let the soup simmer for a few hours until it looks more like this:


Ham and Bean soup
*Jodi Jenson

1 bag (2 lbs) great northern beans
3 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs; diced
2 dried bay leaves
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup diced ham
1 ham bone; optional
1 can vegetable broth

Rinse beans and pour into dutch oven or stock pot. Cover with water. Cook on med-high until boiling. Once boiling, place lid on pan and turn off heat. Let stand for 1 hour.

Rinse beans again and put in dutch oven or stock pot. Cover with water. Add bay leaves, salt, ham bone, diced carrots and celery.

Let simmer 2 -21/2 hour. Remove ham bone and cut meat from it. Add ham to soup (add more ham as needed; 1-2 cups) and vegetable broth. Let simmer 20 min to incorporate.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

Serve with crackers or crusty bread. Enjoy! Printable recipe