Cooking Thursday

This time of year, soup is on the menu a lot. It's so good, when it's cold and snowy. This one is full of flavor! I know you will like it.
For more recipes, visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Bean Soup with Ham

1/2 cup dry black beans

1/2 cup dry great Northern beans

1/2 cup dry red kidney beans

1/2 cup dry pinto beans

1/2 cup dry split green peas

1 ham bone or ham hocks with meat attached

1 small onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 bay leaf

6 cups ham broth (I made mine using ham soup base)

16 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 hours before serving, rinse beans with cold running water. Remove stones or shriveled beans. In a dutch oven or stock pot, mix beans and 9 cups water. Bring to boil and allow to boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Place beans, broth, onion, celery, ham bone and spices into pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove ham bone and add tomatoes to soup. Heat to boiling, reduce to low and simmer for 15 more minutes. While this is simmering, remove any ham from bone and add to soup. Discard bay leaf and serve.