Navy Bean and Ham soup

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Well the holidays are nearly done, and I hate to be this way but I am awfully glad. So much pressure, Christmas, my anniversary, and birthday in a week timespan. Poor planning and in hindsight the events I had control over I would’ve changed, too late now, onward and upward! For Christmas eve I made a duck, and I used the rendered fat to make my au gratin potatoes for Christmas day, to go with our spiral cut ham and roasted beet salad. It was a great meal, but now I am ready to begin a bit healthier regimen to begin the New Year. I did have some ham leftover, you know the parts that aren’t easily accessible off the bone, so I used the rest to make ham and navy bean soup. I used a small organic navy bean, they were advertised as the “cognitive bean” full of vitamin B1, always needing a bit of help with cognitive function I went for them! This soup is easy and super delicious and I am guessing you have most of the needed ingredients in the fridge! A repurposed use of Christmas leftovers, with top notch results!
1 cup of ham, I used what was left on the bone /of our ham, using the bone makes for a rich and simply delicious broth, you could use turkey or leave out the meat as well.
1 ½ cups dried navy beans, or use two cans drained.
2 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh herbs of choice
In a large, thick bottomed stock pot, place rinsed beans covered with water, bring to a boil, rinse again and cover with fresh water filling the pot about half full, add ham on bone or meat of choice, carrots, celery, and onion, and bring back to boil, reduce heat to medium cook 30 minutes or until veggies and beans are tender. Check for seasoning and serve. Easiest soup ever and super delicious! Even better the next day as the flavors meld together if you don’t have ham on the bone or you are using a different meat (smoked turkey wings work great) you may need to use veggie stock to heighten the flavor, the bone in ham is amazingly flavorful in soup, mine had a bit of glaze on it and it worked out amazingly well! Happy New Year!