Senate Bean Soup

By Jeanne Dunbar

When you have a whole lot of ham leftover after Christmas or Easter. You can save some of the ham for sandwiches and use the bone with some ham pieces remaining in this recipe.

2 lbs dry navy beans (2 bags)
1 tsp salt
1 ham bone with some meat (enough for 2-3 cups cubed ham)
1 large onion chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp tarragon leaves
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Rinse and cover the beans in a large stock pot with water and salt. Let the beans soak overnight. Once the beans have been soaked, pour out the water and cover in 4 qt's or 16 cups water. In a separate pan, sautee the onion in butter. Add the ham bone, onion and seasoning to the beans and simmer for 4 hours. Remove the ham bone and place on a cutting board. Cut off the good ham and cut into smaller bite size pieces and add back into the soup. Once the soup has cooled a little add salt to taste. The saltiness will depend on your ham so you may not need a lot- or you may need a good 2 Tbsp.