Sweet Ham and Three Bean Soup

Leftover sweet ham from the holidays has always been my favorite! I just love the thought that I can make delicious sandwiches, healthy salad and fine tasting soup with it!

Today, I'm sharing with you the soup that I made from our leftover Christmas ham. It's a combination of sweet ham and freshly cooked beans (black, red kidney and pinto) cooked in ham bone broth. I'm telling you, it was really so comforting and tasty! There is so much flavor in the ham bone that made this soup taste even better. 

The next time you have leftover ham, you should give this a try!

Ingredients: 

*Serve 6-8

• 3/4 cup black beans, soaked and drained
• 3/4 cup red kidney beans, soaked and drained
• 3/4 cup pinto beans, soaked and drained
• 1 ham bone
• 1 tsp all-spice
• 1 cup tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 cup diced extra-lean sweet ham
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 medium-sized onion, chopped 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
• salt and pepper 
• fresh cilantro (for topping)

Procedure:

1. After soaking for at least 1 hour, rinse beans in running water then drain. Put black beans and red kidney beans in a pot and cover with water about 2 inches above bean level. Bring to a boil over medium heat. While the beans boil, skim off all the scum or brown bubbles that will form on top. Turn the heat to medium low for a gentle simmer and cover the pot with a lid. 30 minutes after, add the pinto beans. Cook until the beans are done. It usually takes 1 1/2 hrs for the kidney beans to cook and 1 hr for the pinto beans. Once the beans are done, remove from heat and drain. 

2. While cooking the beans, put the ham bone in a large pot and cover with 12 cups of water. Add the all spice and 1 Tbsp salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or until the remaining meat easily pulls away from the bone. Remove bone from broth, pull the meat off the bone and discard the bones. Chop the meat and put back into the broth.

3. Add beans and remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to suit your taste. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add Tabasco sauce. Mix well.

4. Transfer to individual serving bowls. Top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with your favorite crackers. (The girls & I ate this with some cheddar crackers while Ryan topped it with tortilla chips and cheese just like tortilla soup.)

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