Ham-And-Bean Soup Recipe

Got a ham bone on leftover from the holidays? Lucky you. Put it to good use in this comforting slow-cooker soup. Made with a ham bone, dried white beans, chopped carrots, celery, onions, and garlic, chicken stock, and fresh thyme, this recipe takes minutes to assemble in a slow cooker. Then it simmers all day, producing a rich and flavorful soup with hardly any effort. For best results, choose a large, meaty ham bone. Near the end of cooking when the soup is done and the bone is cool enough to handle, remove any meat, shred it, and add it back to the soup. Ham bones freeze well, so save them in freezer bags throughout the year so youll have them on hand when you have a craving for soup. The recipe calls for dried great northern beans, but you could use any small dried beans you like. Navy beans or cannellini beans would work well in this soup; just test a bean for doneness at the end of the cook time to make sure they are tender. You will also want to cut the vegetables as uniformly as possible for even results. A pan of savory cornbread and a big, hearty salad are the perfect companions to this comforting and rich southern-style recipe.