mmmmm, mondays: ham and bean soup

okay, i know...the picture of the ham bone looks disgusting. it's the remnants of a ham my family picked through. i managed to get most of the meat off of it but a good chunk still hung on. i also had left over ham cut up in the refrigerator. as gross as it looks, i can remember being a little girl and eating ham and bean soup at my grandmother's house. in fact, both of my grandmothers made it back in the day. i decided it was my time to give it a try. it turned out pretty fantastic and the kids loved it. it also is a great way to use up all the meat from a ham dinner. waste not, want not and all the jazz.

so, if you have a ham bone leftover, give this one a try. enjoy!

ham and bean soup

one ham bone with some meat still attached

3 cups of water

5 cups of chicken broth

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 diced onion (i used one bag of frozen onions)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon "emeril's essence" (thank you emeril)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

1 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup chopped spinach (frozen, thawed, water rung out)

2 cans navy beans or northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 cup extra diced ham

in a large saucepan, combine ham bone, water and chicken broth. add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, pepper, parsley, emeril's essence, and thyme. bring to a boil. cover and reduce heat. simmer for 2 hours. remove the ham bone. cut off all the ham from the bone and dice it into bite sized bits. add the corn, spinach, beans and tomatoes to the soup. skim off the fat from the top of the soup. add the ham cut from the bone and the extra ham. simmer for 45 minutes to an hour more. top with parmesan cheese and serve with your favorite dinner roll. enjoy!