Ham Bone Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 ham bone, meaty
water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 cups ham, diced
1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans
1/3 cup butter
2 cups milk
pepper
cornstarch or instant potato flakes

Preparation

Cover ham bone in water and simmer for about an hour.
Add onion and bay leaves. Simmer until onions are tender.
Add potatoes, garlic, ham and beans. Simmer until ham falls off bone.
Remove ham from ham bone. Add ham to soup and discard bone.
Add butter, milk and pepper. Simmer until heated thoroughly.
Add cornstarch or instant potato flakes to thicken.