Ham Bone Soup

Does anyone have a leftover Easter ham? After everyone has cut all the good ham pieces off the holiday ham, the bone is left with little pieces of good ham still left hanging on it. What do you do with your ham bone? My mother has always requested the ham bone from our relatives after every holiday—Christmas, Easter…whatever it may be where ham is served. I followed her example this year after our Easter dinner with my husband’s family.

Don’t waste the bone! It can be turned into a delicious soup. So that’s what I did this week, and my brother’s family joined us for dinner.

Leftover Ham Bone Soup:

Place the whole ham bone (usually plenty of hunks of meat still left on the bone) in a stockpot of water. Bring to a boil, and boil for several hours, until the meat falls freely from the bone. Just keep an eye on it, I started my soup at 1:30 in the afternoon, and served at 6.

When you have about two hours cooking time left, add the veggies.

I chopped up three small russet potatoes, cubed.

Add two carrots, chopped.

I sliced half an onion, and added two minced garlic cloves.

Salt and pepper to taste.

And about a tablespoon dried parsley.

Let all that simmer for another hour or two, and then it’s ready to go!

I served this soup with a delicious bread recipe from The Prairie Homestead Cookbook called Crusty Dutch Oven Bread. I also made Cracklin Bread per my husband’s request. And of course, ramps on the side.

The centerpiece was provided by Little Farmer #1, daisy’s from the side of our driveway. 😊

And the tablecloth was The Dollar Tree special.

There you have it, all the makings for a great springtime outdoor supper.