Navy Bean and Ham Soup

Today is Groundhog Day and usually, here in central Ohio, we are excited for this day to come so we can find out, from an underground-dwelling rodent, weather spring weather will come sooner rather than later.

Here's the catch this year...we're still waiting on winter to get here!

Sure, we've had the gray skies and plenty of rain.  But what we haven't had is bitter cold or measurable snow.  It's getting a bit ridiculous.  My husband went to the driving range to hit some golf balls yesterday.  It's not the first time this "winter" that he's done that either.  And for the past couple of evenings, my kids were outside rip-sticking, kicking a soccer ball or poking around the creek that runs behind our house.  I even threw dinner on the grill!  These are all activities generally reserved for sometime in mid-March when we are itching to get outside.

We're all predicting, without the help of a groundhog, that mid-March is when we'll finally get our winter weather.  If that does, in fact, happen, you'll be glad to have this soup recipe in your arsenal to fight the late-winter blahs.

Navy Bean and Ham Soup

Here's What You Need:

1 pound dried navy beans

4 cups water

1/4 pound cubed ham

1 can diced tomatoes (16 oz.)

1 can chicken broth (16 oz.)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup diced celery

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Here's What You Do:

You need to plan ahead because the first step needs to happen the night before you intend to eat the soup.  Rinse the beans in water and then place them in a large pot.  Add enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches.  Let stand overnight and then drain any remaining water off.

Add the remaining ingredients to the beans in a slow cooker and cover with a lid.  Cook on high for 8 hours.  Bake some corn bread to go with it and your dinner is on the table.  Leaves you with plenty of time for a snow ball fight!