Split Pea Soup - A Comfy Blanket in a Bowl

I love these chop and drop crockpot meals. They are so quick to prepare, which is perfect even for a busy schedule despite the long cooking time. It took 15 minutes to assemble this soup. that was it, dinner was done. Turn the crockpot to low, and leave it for 10 hours. The only effort needed before serving is handling of the ham hocks. I'll talk about that in a little later.

Here's the ingredients. Again I'm not really doing measurements because this is also another use it up recipe. If you have partial bags of veggies, this is a great way to use them up.

Peas:

1 1lb bag of green split peas (this can be done with yellow split peas as well, but I've found that they take longer to cook, so if using the yellow ones, an overnight pre-soak might be in order to get that traditional, creamy split pea soup consistency).

Veggies (all chopped):

• carrots
• onion
• celery

Seasonings:

• fresh ground pepper
• ground thyme
• dried oregano
• fresh sliced garlic
• chicken boullion

Note: if you don't have thyme or oregano but do have Italian seasoning, that will work great as well.

Meat:

Ham hocks. I got mine at my local grocery store, but I have a tip. Ham hocks impart great flavor, but they're not so great on giving much meat. Still when selecting your hocks, try to find the meatiest looking ones you can. I tried this time, but the amount of meat was not substantial for this big crock of soup. Luckily Nut had just baked up some bacon this morning. So he broke up a few slices into the soup, and it was perfect. The star of this soup is of course the split peas but just a little bit of smokiness is nice. This can be a way of using up a bit of leftover meat as well. I really cannot think of anything that would not work! Also if you are a vegetarian... no worries!! This soup is still very satisfying without the meat, and takes on a bit of a sweeter flavor and very pleasing.

Process:

There's nothing to it. Chop and drop your veggies. Dump in your peas, seasonings and the ham hocks, if using. Fill the crockpot about 1 1/2 inches above all that, cover, set to low, and forget it until it's time for dinner. I would suggest cooking for 10 hours. that's what we did and it turned out great.

Accompaniments:

Nut made a simple but awesome garlic bread which simply was a bit of sliced french bread, spread with butter and seasoned with a bunch of garlic powder and a bit of onion powder.

There is a possibility for amazing sprinkles for this soup as well. Here are a few examples:

• chopped tomatoes
• chopped green onions
• chopped apple
• bacon bits and/or salad crunchies (you find them by the salad dressings in the grocery store)
• chopped cucumbers
• pretty much whatever you have on hand that sounds good. Don't be afraid to try new flavors!

Bottom line, I hope you have a comforting, soul satisfying meal. This soup is great if you're not feeling well or just need a culinary hug.

Taste tester results: Nut likes!