Stormy Day Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried navy beans
• 7 cups water
• 1 ham bone
• 2 cups cubed cooked smoked ham
• ¼ cup minced onion
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• Dash pepper

Directions

1. Rinse beans.
2. Heat beans and water to boiling; boil gently 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour.
4. Add remaining ingredients.
5. Heat to boiling.
6. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beans are soft.
7. Skim off foam occasionally. (Add water if necessary.)
8. Remove bay leaf and ham bone.
9. Trim meat from bone; add to soup.
10. Season to taste.