15 Bean & Ham Soup

Danielle made this last week and it was one of the best soups I've ever had! Such a great winter day recipe.

"15 bean" bag (Albertsons has a *great* one but didn't use the pork seasoning); You have to rinse these beans - you can soak them the night before.
8 cups water (or chicken broth if you don't have a ham bone for extra seasoning)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 ham bone or 2 pounds shanks
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 cups)

1. Heat beans and water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven. Boil uncovered 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
2. Stir in onion, celery and pepper. Add ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until beans are tender.
3. Remove ham bone; remove ham from bone. Trim excess fat from ham; cut ham into 1/2-inch pieces. {I didn't have a ham bone so I skipped this step}
4. Stir ham and carrots into soup. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is desired consistency.

{this recipe can also substitute beans for split peas}