Left over Ham bone? HAM STOCK!

Ham stock is wonderful.    

I won't even bother to make Gumbo without it. But even just to cook some beans and rice in ham stock really makes it so much richer.  And it's so easy.

I cooked a spiral cut ham for Easter dinner.  Spent a good amount of time trying to find the smallest one available but there's still a lot left over but the kids can take ham back to school.  So you cut as much ham off the bone as you can.  As you see, I left a lot of ham on it, it comes off a lot easier afterward.

Put the ham in a large stockpot and cover with cold water.  

Add some celery stalks - even the leftover leafy part from the celery you cut up for Easter dinner....a couple of pieces of onion, some garlic, I had a piece of red bell pepper that was getting soft.  

Whatever old veggies you have that you will probably throw out in a few days - throw them in there.  Add some peppercorns.  Bring it all to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer, put the lid on, and go take a nap for a few hours.

A few hours later, strain it, pour it in gallon zip lock bags, label and freeze it.  

You have this year's supply of ham stock.