Navy Bean Soup - Recipe Card

One of the staples for dinner was Navy Bean Soup. With 9 kids, I mean 9 hungry kids and two adults to feed, Navy Bean Soup was seen a lot at our house. Being the eighth kid, it was always good. Mom would serve it with her freshly baked bread and
fresh butter. One of my chores as a child was to shake a quart jar of heavy cream until it formed into butter. My arms felt like they would fall off, but I learned to not complain. Just do it. I still love these beans. If we started to tire of the
bean soup, Mom would convert them to Chili Beans and serve that up with corned bread. I remember having white rice served with our beans here and there also.

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package dried navy beans
7 cups water
1 ham bone
2 cups diced ham
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery

Directions

Place rinsed beans into a large stock pot. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 2 minutes; remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.
Add ham bone, cubed ham, onion, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beans are soft. Occasionally skim service of soup while it is cooking.
Add carrots and celery, cook until tender. Remove ham bone, scrape any meat from bone and place back into soup and serve.