Senate Bean Soup

By debbreck

This was found in Grandma Eva's recipe box and the the recipe was a newspaper clipping glued to a recipe card. Grandpa Ed had numbered it with "23" with a red pen.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry white navy beans
• 1 meaty ham bone, or 1 1/2 pounds ham hocks
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2/3 cup mashed potato flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon each: nutmeg, oregano, and basil
• 1 bay leaf

Preparation

Step 1

In a large kettle, cover beans with 6 to 8 cups hot water. Bring to a boil; 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover; let stand 1 hour. Drain: Add 2 quarts cold water and ham bone. Bring to boil; simmer 1 and 1/2 hours. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until beans are tender. Remove ham bones, trim off meat.