Mission accomplished!

After (what seems like) 2 days in the kitchen I have officially finished my first minestrone soup!  Grammie Skilling would be so proud.  I know this is technically food for New Years Day, but I couldn't resist having a bowl for lunch today!  I wouldn't want to serve something that could possibly be poisonous, right?  My mom was so kind to give me Grammie's recipe and here goes:

homemade ham stock (made from boiling a ham bone....keep the little ham pieces that fall off the bone)
1 package of 16 bean soup
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of chopped cabbage
salt & pepper
dried oregano
Ditalini pasta (little tube shaped pasta)
Parmesan cheese
3-4 celery stalks, chopped (optional)
1 carrot, chopped (optional)
*the celery and carrot are optional because they are actually not a part of her "original recipe"  I had that in the frig and added it in order to use up some stuff in my crisper. *

To make the ham stock:  Fill a large stock pot about 3/4 of the way full with water.  Place the ham bone in the pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Simmer for 3-4 hours.  Strain and pour into a large bowl, cover, and then refrigerate overnight.  Keep all of the little ham pieces that fall off the bone.  When ready to use take it out of the frig and skim off all of the fat on top.  You do not want to eat the fat!  ;) I measured and I had 9 cups of ham stock.

The ham stock.   Scrape off all of that white stuff! 

The next day:  Thoroughly rinse the beans and place in a stock pot.  (Mom says search through the beans for rocks...Melissa assured me that she has never found one and I could probably skip this step, but I didn't!)  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes and then take it off the heat.  Let it stand for 1 hour.  Once that hour has passed, rinse the beans again.  In another large stock pot (preferably the one you used for the ham stock) add the butter and the veggies.  Saute until tender and then add the oregano, salt & pepper.  *Note:  I used 1 tsp of salt for this dish and I think it was plenty.  You don't want to over salt the dish since the ham is salty and it will only get more flavorful the longer it sits in the frig* 

The onion & celery

 
Now add the ham , tomatoes, and all of the little bits of ham.  Simmer for about 1-2 hours and then remove from the heat.  Place in tupperware and allow it to sit in the frig for at least 1 day.  When ready to eat serve it with some Ditalini pasta and fresh Parmesean on top! 

Almost done! 

Another important side note:  it appears to me that this will make enough food for a small army!  Plan on having guests over and/or freezing some of the soup for later!  I sure hope Frank is hungry...