Ham-and-Bean Soup

Making this recipe was a real victory for me! Jared loved it and that was my main goal. I had a leftover ham bone from a Honeybake Ham from our dinner group the week before. For super bowl weekend I made 5 different kinds of soups ("souper bowl") and had a bunch of people for dinner. I made this one and it was a big hit. I ended up simmering it longer, because I needed it to- then put it in the crock pot on warm to serve. You can freeze a ham bone and leftover ham until you are ready to make the soup. It is great to serve this with corn bread of corn muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package dried great Northern beans
• 3 cups chopped cooked ham
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ham bone
• 2 (32-ounce) containers chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preparation

Sort and wash beans. Place beans in a 6-quart Dutch oven; add water 2 inches above beans, and soak 8 hours. Drain.
Sauté ham, onion, and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add beans, ham bone, chicken broth, and red pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender and soup has thickened.