Holiday Lentil and Ham Soup

Every Christmas I order a 10 pound spiral honey roasted ham and every Christmas I have a ton of leftovers. Usually they get made into omlettes or hash or sandwiches which is lovely. But this year I was left with a massive soup bone and a lot of really tough meat around the bone. I preserved the entire bottom of the ham and any chunk ham left clinging to the end and froze it to use in soup later. Instead I made soup the next day. This was my first attempt at lentil soup and it was *good*.

Holiday Lentil and Ham Soup

1/2 lb of dry lentil, rinsed
6 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of chopped sweet vidalia onions
1 celery rib sliced finely
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 t white pepper
1/8 t sweet dry basil
2 cups of ham (I like squaring off cubes or shredding off the bone during cooking)
hambone
2 T olive oil

Sautee veggies in olive oil until tender. Add to a crockpot with remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours. Periodically open and shave meat off the bone if using a soup bone. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 1-2 hours.

If using a soup bone or salt back remember to leave the fat on. It adds to the flavor of the soup. Do not substitute bullion cubes.