Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

How to make it

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• cover ham bone with water in a large pot.
• bring to a boil and then simmer until the meat falls off the bone
• cool and place in the refrigerator over night
• next day:
• the fat will be solid at the top of the pan. remove and discard
• sort the dried baby lima beans. (you want more than you think .)
• place in another pot of cold water.****
• bring to a boil and boil for 2 mins.. turn off the heat and cover
• let sit for 1 hour..this takes the place of soaking over night
• ( some people like to drain this water off and replace with fresh water) before they start cooking again
• over medium heat cook beans until done
• while the beans are soaking and cooking, remove the meat from the ham pot.. discard the bone and the fat from the meat and return meat to the pot
• place the stock and the meat back on the stove over high heat unti it boils. then turn down so it's just below the boiling point
• chop the onions, I like alot, add to stock pot
• chop celery , add to the pot
• chop carrots, add to the pot
• I add a lot of pepper
• add a nice amount of garlic- finely minced, pressed, or powder
• cook until the veggies are done
• when the lima bean are cooked, drain and add to the ham pot
• I let the whole thing cook for awhile to blend the flavors
• this soup gets thicker each time you reheat it
• it freezes beautifully
• *****if you have very hard water you may want to use bottled water or water that has been filtered so the beans come out soft.