Ham Bone and Bean Soup

I am a soup lover. If I could, I would have soup every day of the week. Chicken soup, beef soup, fish soup, vegetable soup, clear broth, creamy broth, tomato based broth, it doesn't matter...I love them all!
While living in Florida, in my very lean days I could make a chicken go a very long way! One pot of soup would feed me for the week.

Every Monday night, Aunt Rose would put on a pot of soup! Anyone who wanted to come to her house was always welcome, and every Monday there was Soup and a crowd ! After a weekend of over indulging she felt that soup was good food, and it helped clean your body out from all the crap you ate over the weekend!
To this day, it is a very rare Monday in my house where there is not a pot of soup cooking. My family knows that if it's Monday, it's a soup day!
It's Monday, so today we're Food Crawling with Beans and a Ham Bone! Now that's what I'm talking about!

I start making the soup with a trinity of carrots, celery and onions!  I like my vegetables on the chunky side. In a large pot I'll add the chopped vegetables to a little bit of olive oil and saute them for just a little bit. Maybe a minute or two. Then I'll add the beans. Goya makes a great bag of beans that has something like 18 different beans in it. I absolutely love the mixture of beans.

 Once the beans are in I add the ham bone. When ever we have a ham I save the bone. I always leave lots of meat on the bone. I'll make a bigger ham just so there is plenty of meat left on the bone. Who wants a stingy ham and bean soup!? lol We like big chunks of ham!

 I add enough water to the pot to cover the ham bone, and season with salt and pepper, two bay leaves and a tablespoon of McCormick Caribbean Jerk Seasoning. It's sweet and spicy and adds a little bit of heat.  Bring the soup to a boil and then cover the pot and let the soup simmer for at least an hour, more like two. When the meat falls off the bone, and the beans are tender the soup is done.

It's a meal, with nice big chunks of ham and delicious tender beans and vegetables that melt in your mouth!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine