Were you lucky enough to score the coveted ham bone after this year’s holiday feast?  We turned our ham bone into Loaded Bean Soup.  Loaded with count ’em 15 of these varieties: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Blackeye, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split, Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Small Red, Yellow Split, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, Black Bean.

It’s New Years Day and we like many want to be sure to include as many ‘Good Luck’ foods into our day as possible.  We started with a bag of dried beans from Hurst’s called 15-Bean Soup, even though the label lists 17 varieties.  Ha! That reminds me of a favorite childhood magazine, mostly reserved for doctor’s offices.  Anyone else remember Highlight’s Hidden Pictures?

Can you spot the Black-Eyed Peas?  I was tempted to try and identify all 15 or 17 of these beans…That’s when we decided to simply call our version Loaded Bean Soup.

We had our own ham bone which we made ham broth from (simple to do) vs. their seasoning packet.  We did however mostly follow the soup recipe on the package.  I must admit I was intrigued by the suggestion of beans, diced tomato, chili powder and fresh lemon juice.

The result was a hearty flavorful soup, naturally low in fat and high in fiber.  That qualifies this Loaded Bean Soup as a Healthy Choice going into the New Year.  Serve this soup with a side of homemade Cornbread for a little extra good fortune.

Curious what other foods, besides Black-Eyed Peas, are said to bring luck, health and good fortune in the New Year?  Check out this fun round-up of 10 Good Luck Foods.

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Loaded Bean Soup {15+ varieties}

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Author adapted from Hurst’s 15-Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Hurst’s dried 15-Bean Soup
• 1 ham bone
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• juice of one lemon
• 1 Tbl. chili powder

Instructions

• Place beans in a large Dutch oven and cover with 2-quarts of water for 8-hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, to prepare the ham broth, place ham bone in large stock pot covered with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil then gently simmer for 2-3 hours, skimming foam periodically. Remove ham bone, reserve any ham pieces and chill broth. Once chilled skim off an fat.
• Drain beans, cover with ham broth and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
• Add remaining ingredients including any reserved ham. Simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes or until onion and beans are tender.
• Delicious served with cornbread.

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Bean With Bacon Soup.  Reminds me of a joke….  

My favorite comedian George Carlin once did a skit about running out of deodorant. As he said it can happen to all of us, even in the nicest homes.  His advice…if you do run out of deodorant, go into the kitchen and put a bay leaf under each arm.  It doesn’t stop you from perspiring, but you smell like soup!  Keeps your friends on their toes.  “Hey, who’s wearing Chicken Vegetable?” “Not me, I have Bean With Bacon.”

Recipe tip:  We had a ham bone in the freezer that was ready for prime time.  However, if you don’t, check with your local Honey Baked Ham store.  They’ll often sell them fairly cheap ($5.00 range) and they still have a nice amount of meat on them.  Or you can skip the ham bone completely, use a nice rich chicken stock, and add a little extra bacon.

Lemony Thyme Insider Tidbit:  I met George Carlin personally.  I was sitting at a table in the piano lounge at Bally’s when I noticed a familiar face at the bar.  It was George Carlin, ordering a glass of red wine to go.  I couldn’t help myself as he approached.  This is after all the man who taught me how to appreciate standup comedy (and swear).  “I just have to tell you how much I love you.”  That’s what I said.  We exchanged pleasantries…who am I kidding I have no idea what he said until he ‘bid us adieu’ and said “I hope you have a very interesting dusk.”  That’s the last thing he ever said to me.

Bread Machine Bread Bowls Recipe.

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Bean With Bacon Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 celery ribs sliced
• 1 sweet potato small cubed
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 ham bone
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 cup dried great northern beans cooked or 1 15-ounce can drained and rinsed
• grated Parmesan cheese to serve
• optional bread bowls.

Instructions

• In Dutch oven, cook bacon until browned and crispy. Remove to drain on paper towels. Add onion, carrots, celery and sweet potato and sauté until just tender. Add in garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove veggies from pan and reserve. Add broth, ham bone, and seasoning to pan; simmer for 1 hour, skimming fat periodically.
• Remove ham bone and cut off all meat. Add reserved veggies, bacon, cooked beans, and reserved ham pieces and simmer 10 minutes until heated through.
• Serve in bowl or bread bowls. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

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This wonderful soup, that we’ve been eating for the past two days, could be made with almost any ingredients….so long as there’s a Ham Bone in the soup pot.  And no matter how skilled you are at carving a ham, there is always extra meat still on the bone.

This Ham Bone Soup began in our dutch oven with some diced onion and carrots to begin the soup base (would have added celery but I’m banned from a grocery store for 7 days).  Once the veggies began to soften, we added minced garlic and sauteed for a minute before adding about 6 cups of chicken broth and the beautiful ham bone.  We seasoned the broth with dried sage, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper then simmered covered for about one hour, skimming the fat several times.

Meanwhile, because this soup was a last minute dinner decision and we didn’t have time for soaking, we cooked about a half a bag of great northern beans in the pressure cooker.  Once the soup broth had reduced some we removed the ham bone and picked off all the remaining meat.  We then added more diced onion and carrots, plus some cubed new potatoes.  Once the veggies were tender, we add the cooked beans, the ham pieces, and a couple handfuls of spinach leaves.  Absolutely delicious.

And how about these beautiful new bowls I got for Christmas.

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Ham Bone Soup {Warm & Tasty}

Course Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 ham bone
• 1 large onion diced – reserving 1/2 cup
• 4-5 carrots diced – reserving 1/2 cup
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 3-4 small to medium new potatoes large cubed
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves
• 1 cup dried great northern beans cooked

Instructions

• In dutch oven, saute onion and carrots (except 1/2 cup of each) until just tender. Add in garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant, then add in broth, ham bone, and seasoning.
• Simmer for 1 hour, skimming fat periodically.
• Remove ham bone and cut off all meat. Add potatoes and reserved carrots and onion and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Stir in cooked beans, reserved ham pieces, and spinach leaves until heated through.

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