Ham Potato Green Bean Soup

When Hubs and I started dating, there were some meals that both of us had become accustomed to.  He grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch family in the heart of central PA.  Meanwhile my parents were from Long Island, who relocated to upstate NY.

We each had very different tastes.  He loves meat, and I’m more of a pasta girl.  He grew up on meals I hadn’t even heard of like, chicken & waffles, and ham potato green bean soup.  Summers to him meant onion, tomato and mayo sandwiches.  To me, summers meant clams on the grill, and my absolute local favorites, Lupo’s spiedies.  Our food tastes were like night and day.

But when we got married, ham, potato and green bean soup was the epitome of compromise to me.  The first time I saw it, it looked awful.  I mean, who in their right mind would throw nearly everything good from a ham dinner into a pot, let it simmer, and call it soup?

It took me a few years before I tried it.  But once I got past the mental roadblock, and especially the thought of green beans floating in my meal, this is seriously a good soup!  Bonus points go to this meal since it is a very cheap, super easy and absolutely delicious way to use up leftover ham!  The only problem is that I didn’t try it sooner!

Hubs’ mom uses chicken broth, but I’ve found it’s tastier if you use ham broth.  If you have the time, you can make your own ham broth from the left over bone.  Since we don’t cook ham that often, and when we do it’s usually boneless, I use Better Than Bullion Ham Base*.  I can find it at my local Wegman’s for about $4.49, and a little bit goes a long way!  It is a bit on the salty side though, so go easy on the salt when seasoning your soup later on.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 6 red potatoes, diced into 1/2″ pieces
• 6 cups broth, either chicken or ham
• 2 cups cooked ham, diced {I use leftover ham from a larger roast.}
• 1 lb fresh green beans, washed & trimmed

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, or dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Saute onion and celery until translucent.
2. Add in potatoes, and saute for an few minutes.
3. Add broth and bring to a boil.  Turn heat down, simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add ham and green beans.  Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Season to taste, serve warm.

Serves 8-10