From our humble hearts to yours, we hope you had a magical Christmas with love and laughter with family and friends.

And ham. We hope you had ham because we have ham.

A LOT OF HAM. I ended up making ham instead of turkey for a bunch of reasons but I won’t bore you with them … but let’s say I have a lot left over.

Because I do 🙂 and so I made this delicious white bean and ham soup with the leftovers.

I could have made your usual ham and potato soup but I just wanted something a little different. Instead of using potatoes I went with white cannellini beans instead. Plus they have 6 grams of protein per cup, that’s better than pure carbs from the potatoes.

Then I added some veggies …. carrots, onions, celery and freshly made chicken stock.

It’s a great way to use up the leftover ham you have from the holidays and enjoy some warm comforting soup.

Again, we hope you had a great holiday and look forward to some great recipes in 2017 !

Our word of the year is CLEAN. The recipes this coming year will be much cleaner, less animal fat, meat and more plant based as we continue on our journey to eat cleaner and healthier with each passing year.

White Bean and Ham Soup

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Ingredients

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3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
⅓ cup flour
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups cooked and cubed ham
15 oz. can canneli beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley – (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
½ tsp EACH dried oregano, dried thyme, ground cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
2–3 cups half and half

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Instructions

Grab a large stock pot and turn the heat on Med. Add the oil and once that warms add the buttert. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes
Add carrots and celery and cook, while stirring, for a few minutes more
Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds
Sprinkle in flour then cook, stirring constantly for 1 ½ minutes
Turn heat to low and slowly stir in 5 ½ cups chicken broth
Stir in beans, Dijon mustard, bay leaves and spices
Bring to a boil; immediately reduce heat cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender
Scoop out 2 cups of the soup and process in a food processor or blender until pureed, return to soup
Add ham and half and half and warm through