Ham Bean Soup Leftover Make Over
What to do with those holiday leftovers? This ham bean soup is a leftover make over. Your ham bone never looked so good as it does swimming with some beans, carrots and celery.
A simple soup that is packed so full of flavor, you’ll swear it had to be complicated. Nobody needs more complication in life. Make this soup and sit back, enjoy your leftovers and reflect on the good things in life.
We usually have a huge, (I mean, huge!) ham for our holiday meals. About the third day of eating leftover ham and the family gets a bit tired of looking at the same meal.
Except my husband, I think he could eat ham every day of the year and be perfectly happy!
I try to mix up the ways I serve the left over ham – omelets, casserole, sandwiches, you know the routine. This ham bean soup, however, is probably the most popular leftover make over I’ve served.
I use my favorite kitchen secret weapon – the slow cooker – to cook down that ham bone with some water, spices and an onion. After simmering on low all day, the meat literally falls off the bone.
I just spend a few minutes with two forks breaking the meat into bite sized bits and it’s ready to go into the soup pot.
If you want to use dried beans, make sure you put them on to soak when you start simmering the ham bone. They’ll be ready to add to the soup pot at the same time as the ham.
If you use canned beans, you may want to drain and rinse. Remember that ham has a pretty good sodium content, so added salt in the beans (and the soup) might be too much!
Make It a Meal:
Serve this hot soup with some biscuits or crackers and you’re all set for supper on a cold winter night. If you want to make this part of a larger meal, consider serving with grilled cheese sandwich, side salad or even a baked potato.
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This soup really is hearty enough to call supper. It’s especially welcome on cold winter nights, when the darkness falls before supper time and you’re wanting to warm yourself from the inside out.
Ham Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
Ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, butter beans and some of your favorite spices.
Recipe Directions:
Slow cook the ham bone. Add meat to vegetables and broth, simmer.
Ham Bean Soup
Use the remains of your holiday dinner in this leftover make over. A hearty soup that will warm the soul!
Ingredients
- 1 Ham Bone or
- 2 cups Ham Chunks
- 4 cups Water
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Parsley
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 cups Carrots chopped
- 2 cups Celery chopped
- 1 cup Onion chopped
- 2 cups Butter Beans
Instructions
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Place ham bone in slow cooker with water and spices. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
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Remove ham bone, shred meat from bone. Discard bone. Return meat to broth in slow cooker.
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Remove bay leaf, discard.
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Add chopped vegetables and butter beans to slow cooker.
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Increase water to cover vegetables.
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Cook on high one hour.
Approximate Nutritional Information:
Servings Per Recipe: 8, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 121, Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 19g, Sodium: 483mg, Carbs: 14g, Protein: 9g
(please remember these are approximate and will vary slightly based on your ingredient selections.)
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