Many of us are going to make a ham for our Easter dinner. Before you throw out that ham bone, I have a suggestion. Why waste all that flavor when you can use it to make a great soup? My Delicious Ham Bone Soup is an excellent way to get more of that ham while giving you another very tasty light meal.
This is a hearty soup with beans, potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, carrots and just a few herbs that go wonderfully together. Feel free to throw in bits of some leftover ham, if you so desire.
Here is a tip that I want to pass on. Add the salt when you are cooking dried beans when they are nearly done to help keep them softer. Otherwise, your beans will be hard.
I just hope you try my recipe because it is very good and helps stretch your budget further!
My Delicious Ham Bone Soup
2 cups of dried navy beans
2 whole cloves
1 meaty ham bone
1 cup of cubed potatoes
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 cup of cubed carrots
1 bay leaf
2-1/2 quarts of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Cook the beans in the 2-1/2 quarts of water for about two or three minutes before taking them off of the heat. Now you will let this stand covered for about one hour.
Next, add the ham bone and any small chopped pieces of that leftover ham you need to get rid of along with garlic, cloves, and bay leaf to the beans and water. Keep this covered and simmer for about two hours or until the beans are almost tender.
Now add the rest of the vegetables, salt, and pepper and simmer an additional one hour.
Remove the ham bone and cut off the meat, which you can throw back into the soup before pitching that bone.
Reheat to almost boiling and be sure to remove the bay leaf before serving.
ENJOY!
