Senate Bean Soup

One of my favorites things about Easter is stealing the leftover ham from my parents dinner! I'm not a big ham person but I love this ham and bean soup. This is a Paula Deen recipe that I saw on her show a few years ago and have made it after every Easter since. I add a few more things than she does, but you can see the original recipe here.

SENATE BEAN SOUP

• 2 pounds navy beans
• 4 quarts of water
  
• 1 thick slice leftover spiral ham, cut into small pieces (I use about 3-4 cups of chopped up ham)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-2 teaspoons celery seed (optional)
• Salt and pepper

Rinse the beans in hot water until they are white. Place them in a stockpot, add the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours. Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and celery until lightly browned. Add the onion, celery, bay leaf and celery seed to the pot of beans. Remove 2 cups of the bean mixture (make sure the bay leaf isn't in there), puree in a blender, and return to the soup. Add to ham to soup mixture. Just before serving, season the soup with salt and pepper, to taste.