Ham and Bean Soup

It's fall, and that means soup time! I love a good navy bean soup. I found this one on BHG.com and thought I'd give it a try for our first "The Office" party of the year.

It was cheap and easy... and I thought it was really yummy! I ate the last of it for lunch today. I'd recommend this for sure :)

I used a hunk of deli turkey ham instead of the hocks. Then to compensate for the lack of ham-hock flavor in the broth, I added some bouillon. Using chicken broth instead of water would have done the same thing. I made a big batch Tuesday night, so it sat and meddled until Thursday.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry navy beans
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds meaty smoked pork hocks or one 1- to 1 1/2-pounds meaty ham bone
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1-1/2 cups sliced celery (3 stalks)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion (3 medium)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Rinse beans. In a 4-quart Dutch oven combine beans and 4 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Or, place beans in water in Dutch oven. Cover and let soak in a cool place for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.) Drain and rinse beans; set aside.

2. In the same Dutch oven brown pork hocks on all sides in hot butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion to Dutch oven. Cook and stir until softened. Stir in beans, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and 4 cups fresh water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove pork hocks. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off bones; coarsely chop meat. Discard bones and bay leaf. Slightly mash beans in saucepan.

3. Stir in chopped meat; heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Makes 5 servings (8 cups)