Mom's Ham and Bean Soup
I couldn't find the perfect ham and bean soup recipe, so I came up with this after comparing three different ones. I combined the ingredients that I liked, and Mom's ham and bean soup was invented. 
dried Great Northern beans
1 ½
cups
meaty ham hocks
4
water
5
cups
sliced celery
1 ½
cups
chopped onion
1
cup
carrot, chopped
1
large
garlic, minced
3
cloves
dried thyme, or more to taste
½
teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
¼
teaspoon
bay leaf
1
 Place Great Northern beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand for 8 hours to overnight. Drain and transfer beans to a large stockpot.
  Add ham hocks, 5 cups water, celery, onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, black pepper, and bay leaf to beans in the stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until ham falls off the bones, about 2 hours.
  Remove ham hocks from soup. Cut meat from bones, discarding fat and bones. Return meat to the pot. Continue cooking until beans reach desired softness.
