Ham and Bean Soup

Merry Christmas!!  We enjoyed our relaxed Christmas day at home, then my family came over on the 26th for some fun together.  I made a ham, mac and cheese, and salad for dinner that night, something that everyone would like.  Now I have leftover ham to make into something.  Bob has used some of it for breakfast the last two days, but I was thinking more like soup/stew.  I had a bag of Appaloosa beans I had gotten from The Herb Shop at Lancaster, PA's Central Market.  The recipe on the back got the juices flowing for a soup, but it wasn't quite what I wanted (it had salsa in it, not something Bob really likes).  So after a quick web search, I found something better that I made to our liking.

Ham and Bean Soup

1 ham bone with some meat left on
1 lb. Appaloosa beans
3 c chicken broth
3 c water
1 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
1 heaping Tbsp parsley
2 bay leaves
a few grinds of pepper

Put all the ingredients into a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until beans are soft.  Pull out the ham bone and meat; cut up the meat and return to the pot.  Heat for a couple of minutes to reheat the meat and serve.

This can also be cooked in a crockpot on low all day or on high for 3-4 hours.