The Best Bean Soup

My daughter loves bean soup. The more beans the better. I use a 23 bean blend. Go to the dried bean section of your grocery store and check out all the choice. Buy the one that suits you best. NEED: 6 cups of water 1 large ham bone (this can be purchase at the meat department of your local grocery store or deli. Some stores actually have them packaged and in the meat cooler) 1 1/2 cups diced ham -optional 1 package 12 to 16 ounces of dried beans 2 large carrots, diced 1 medium onion, diced 2 stalks of celery, diced Instant mashed pototoe flakes 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Salt and Pepper to taste Pour package of beans in a strainer and rinse well. Make sure holes of strainer are not too big as most packages of beans do contain some small ones. In large pot, add water and beans. Bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat. Allow to sit for 1 hour. After one hour check the water to see if you need to remove bean skins or any other things that have floated to the top. Place ham bone in center of pot. Add all other veggies, ham. and seasoning. Bring to a very slow boil and continue to cook for an hour. You want to slow cook the beans. You want them done but you do not want them to fall apart. Remove the ham bone. A great bean soup has a thick base. This is done by slowly stirring in instant mashed potatoe flakes until you have the consistancy that you want. Allow to slow cook for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the soup. Do not allow water to go below other ingredients. Add water a 1/2 at a time, as needed during cooking. You can turn heat to lowest setting and leave on stove. Stir before serving. Enjoy!