Making Ham Soup

I love to have a pot of soup bubbling on the stove.  Don't you? The cold weather calls for comforting soup.  It's so easy to make soup from ingredients you have on hand.  One of my favorite things to do is to use a meaty ham bone that was leftover and hiding in the freezer. Any time you use bones in a soup you can be assured it will be tasty.  Today I'd like to share how I made Ham Soup this weekend.

I start most all soups the same way:
Saute' in 2 tablespoons of olive oil:
Mirepoix or "holy trinity" of diced onions, celery and peppers
I also add carrots to the mix.

After onion is soft and translucent:
Put a meaty ham bone in:

Then I add a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes 

Can of water from tomato can
Can of black beans including juice
1/2 can of water from black beans
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1 cup frozen baby butter beans (limas)
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon thyme
4-5 grinds of the pepper mill
salt is not needed as ham is salty enough

Allow soup to simmer for a couple hours.  Then remove ham bone and clean off meat and dice and add back to soup.
Add one large diced potato and allow to simmer until potato is done.  Serve with biscuits or crackers.

You can add any veggies you enjoy or have on hand.  That's why I love to make soup--it's creative!

My family loves soup!  How about your family?