Post-Easter Split Pea Soup

Easter has come and gone. I hope everyone had a fabulous day however you celebrate, if you do at all. We had a huge Easter dinner, just the four of us and relaxed aaaall day. Since this NEVER happens I relished every moment. As part of dinner I made Ham with Rum Glaze.

I just realized that I have never posted that recipe. How sad! It's soooo good! Okay, I will post it in the next few days I promise.

Anyway, there are only four of us and that was a HUGE bone-in ham. "What am I going to do with all this HAM?" I asked myself. The cats were listening too and had their own ideas but I chose to feed the humans with it. Enter: Split Pea Soup.

This is NOT a unique recipe. This is a family one handed down through generations that I made a couple tweaks to but not many. This is probably identical to others but I wanted to share anyway.

Mama's Split Pea Soup

• 1 bag dried split peas
• 1 ham bone (preferably with a little ham still attached)
• 3-4 Tblsp olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 2 carrots, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 10 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• Chopped ham (optional)

Saute the celery, onion, garlic and carrot in the olive oil for around 5 minutes over medium high heat until the onion and celery are softened. Add the peas, ham bone, broth, water and pepper. Cover and cook on medium for around an hour and a half, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Remove the ham bone and add the chopped ham (if using). Turn off the heat and serve. I usually serve it with a Spring Mix and Spinach Salad.