Navy Bean Soup

I wanted to make a soup over the weekend that would last for the whole week. I found this recipe in my Grandma's Kitchen Recipe box and knew it would fit the bill. I'd made it once before a long time ago, but I have to say, I don't remember it being this tasty. This was wonderful! I enjoyed it today for lunch!

Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients:
16 oz dried navy beans
4 cups chicken broth
4 – 8 cups water
1.5 lb ham
1 cup finely chopped onion
1.5 lbs chopped potatoes
1/3 cup ketchup
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped carrot

1. Sort and rinse the navy beans.

2. Combine beans with enough water to cover by 2 inches in a stockpot.

3. Bring beans to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for an hour; drain well.

4. Add chicken broth and 4 cups of water to beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

5. Chop the ham coarsely. Stir ham, chopped onion, potatoes, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper into beans. Add the chopped carrot and mix well. Add up to 4 more cups water or chicken broth, if needed. (I needed to add 4 more cups.)

6. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls. Serve with cornbread.

**Only after making the soup did I realize that the recipe called for only 1.5 CUPS of potatoes, while I had used 1.5 LBS of potatoes. Oh well! I like it better with more potatoes!