Split Pea Soup

Even though it's not the most attractively colored soup, a dish of homemade pea soup tastes great on a wintry day. Good news is that this soup was made in 1 pot in a couple of hours using items we already had here.

Split Pea Soup
Soak 1 lb pkg green split peas overnight in 3-4 cups of cold water. Shortcut: Boil 2 minutes and set aside for an hour. Drain and rinse beans and pick out anything you shouldn't be there.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp thyme
3-4 cans low sodium chicken broth or alternate with beef broth
Salt and pepper as needed
Ham hocks or diced ham added after soup is pureed.

1. Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes.
3. Add split peas, broth and ham hocks (if being used)
4. Skim off any foam that appears on surface.
5. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Purée soup, return to pot and reheat as needed. If a ham bone was used remove, cool, cut off meat into small cubes and add to soup.