Neighborhood Ham And Bean Soup

Total Time: 6 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 2 cups dried great northern beans
• 5 cups chicken broth (low sodium is best)
• 3 cups water
• 1 large meaty ham bone (i use 2 or 3 smoked ham hocks)
• 2 -3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried savory
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped (i also put in a handful of the chopped celery leaves)
• 1 large potato, cut into cubes (optional, but very good)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Recipe

• 1 place beans in a dutch oven or soup kettle; add water to cover by 2â€?.
• 2 bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes.
• 3 remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. drain.
• 4 add broth, water, ham bone, bouillon and seasonings; bring to a boil.
• 5 reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours (i find i usually add at least an hour to this).
• 6 sauté’ onions, carrots and celery in oil; add to soup along with cubed potato (if using).
• 7 cover and simmer 1 hour longer.
• 8 debone ham and cut into chunks; return to soup.
• 9 skim fat (i find i don’t have any to skim).
• 10 i like to mash some of the beans once they get soft. my total cooking time is more like 6 hours than 4 hours.
• 11 great served with corn bread.