STRING BEANS AND POTATOES

Ingredients
2 pounds green beans, cleaned and *snapped or 2 (14.5 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained)
1/4-1/2 pound thinly sliced ham
10 small **red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
water
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation:
Place the ham slices in a large pot. Add about 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until ham is tender.Remove ham from pot and cut into small pieces.
Return to the pot and add the beans, potatoes and onions. Season with pepper. Add a bit more water if needed, but not too much. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are very tender, about 1 hour. (Cooking time will depend on the age of the beans.)
Taste the beans and add salt if needed but, since country ham is very salty, additional salt will probably not be necessary.
If there appears to be too much broth, cook on high without the cover until some of the moisture evaporates. Add butter to beans and stir until melted; replace lid and cook an additional 10 minutes. This will keep, covered, over low heat until serving.

Notes: If you use country ham it is a little salty.

* any boiling potatoes will work, Yukon Gold are great also.
**snap off the ends and discard them, an any diseased or browny parts.
snap them in half and wash