Earl Cooks Ham, Bean, Lentil, & Quinoa Soup

As a teenager, the mother of one of my best friends, was cooking dishes for a restaurateur to use in his new restaurant. We were tasked with getting the food from my friend's house to the door of the man opening the restaurant 20-25 minutes away, while it was still warm. I had access to a car. Part of this process was we got to taste what she was cooking. She was delegated as test cook because she was, and is, a terrific cook. It was the first time I remembered tasting navy bean with ham soup. Either that or hers was SOOO much better than any I had ever tasted, I didn't associate it with any soup I had eaten to that point. THIS WAS SO GOOD I IMMEDIATELY ASKED MY MOM TO MAKE IT! Bless her heart, she tried. I don't know where she got the recipe, but it was totally different that that of my friend's mom. She may have tried again, and may have asked my friend's mom her secret, but she never made anything as tasty. While my recipe is not trying to emulate hers, I have discovered some tricks I will incorporate in this soup.

I began with a lot of ham I had frozen last time I cooked a ham. I added it to my Magnalite roaster. I then added four cups water, 2 bay leaves  and heated the ham through. Next, I added McCormick Pork Gravy mix and a can of cream of celery soup and then a can of Progresso Lentil Soup. I mixed that all together. Then I added one can of white beans (any kind), including the liquid. Cover for a few more minutes to bring everything to a boil again.

Now the last step and then dinner. I added white quinoa to the roaster (you can omit this). Allow it to bubble for a few minutes more, then dish it up and add your favorite crackers and a pat of butter, salt and fresh ground black pepper. And don't forget to remove the bay leaves!

While this isn't a navy bean with ham recipe, it is a great way to get a nice thick soup and use up some leftovers! And it tastes marvelous!