This isn't the most traditional way of making ham and bean soup but still has amazing flavor. I didn't use ham hock, ham shank or bacon which seems to be common. We used a homemade ham stock that we had in the freezer made from the bone of a spiral ham. For the ham chunks I used a combination of leftover ham from a holiday meal and the last bit of the ham I smoked this past summer. If you don't have smoked ham or double smoked in my case you can use a smoked turkey leg and let it simmer in the pot. Or even a drop or two of liquid smoke just to give the extra depth of flavor. Also used the dehydrated onion in place of fresh chopped because it seemed like it would just get lost in there. The only thing I might do differently next time is add spinach or another green to the party.