15 Bean and Ham Soup

I'm not gonna lie...my kids are not giddy when I tell them we are having beans for dinner.  Luckily most of them trust me enough that it will not be a super regular occurence and will at least give them a try because they love my cooking.  I made some Disneyland cornbread with strawberry whipped butter (might as well be a cake!) to go with this soup and they were mollified somewhat.  I loved this soup!  Beans are so good for you and my ham rocks!!  Click on the link here to see how I cook my ham.  What made this soup so good was the liquid I cooked it in.  The last time I cooked a ham I reserved the liquid from the crockpot and froze it with 3 cups of the shredded ham meat.  Then I used some of it to cook the beans in.  Yum!

15 Bean and Ham Soup
1 bag bean mix (I discard the flavoring packet that comes in it)
4 cups of cooked ham liquid, divided
1/2 container of grape tomatoes, halved
1 small white onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano
           Rinse the beans in a colander under cold water and remove and small debris.  (One time I found a small pebble in my bag of beans!)  Pour the beans into a 3-5 quart stock pot and add water to cover the beans.  Add 2 cups of the cooked ham liquid.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1-2 hours, checking every 1/2 hour to make sure they do not boil all of the water and liquid away.  If this starts to happen add a cup of water. (This is the fast cook method for the beans, not the overnight soaking method.)

I love how pretty and colorful the uncooked beans are!
After the beans have cooked until they are beginning to become tender (1-2 hours).  Add the ham, onions, celery, salt, pepper, oregano and 2 more cups of ham liquid. 

Cover again and simmer until beans and onions and celery are tender, about 1/2 hour or so.  The last thing to add is tomatoes.  They only need about 5-10 minutes to cook.  Taste for additional seasoning (salt and pepper.)