Craft Show Soup

This soup is a fitting entry under the categories, "What to do with a ham bone," and "What to make for a Super Bowl Party where the Pats are going to take on the Giants (and win!)". And, actually, it has a sort of strange name. What is a craft show and why does it have soup?

The Craft Show in question is an annual event at my son's former preschool. One of the teachers, Patti Sigati, commands an army of cooks in the kitchen and makes a ton of this soup to sell at the Craft Show. It's not always cold in October around here, but this year, it was a chilly day, and the soup was spot on. I found Patti and begged her to share the recipe. We walked to the school office and picked out an old copy of the school fundraiser cookbook. She photocopied it for me, and well, here it is.

Craft Show Soup
With Thanks to Patti Sigati

Active Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 12 hours for soaking beans
Cooking Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes on stove or 4-6 hours in slow cooker*

2 cups 15 bean soup mix, washed (remove the ham flavoring packet if it comes with one)
2 quarts water
1 honey baked ham bone with extra outside fat removed **
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 16 oz. can Hunts stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice

Soak beans overnight in water to cover. Drain. Place beans in a 5 quart Dutch oven. Add two quarts water, ham, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients; simmer 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove ham from the bone (and throw away the bone), returning meat to the soup. Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

*To adapt it for a slow cooker, just put your ingredients (excluding the lemon juice) in the slow cooker and cook on the Low setting for 4-6 hours. Add the lemon juice and stir, after you remove the ham bone from the soup. 

** Ham stores (like HoneyBaked Ham) will sell the ham bones (frozen) by themselves. They range in price from about four dollars to twelve dollars, depending on their size. I used a "six dollar" ham bone, and it provides ample meat for the soup.

Soup's on! 

You can either do this on the stove or in a slow cooker.