SOUP OF THE WEEK...

YELLOW SPLIT PEA WITH HAM!

Let me tell you a funny story about Split Pea with Ham soup.  A friend made it for a neighborhood get-together a long time ago - it was her grandfather's recipe - and delicious!  It involved a ham bone and cooking all day in the crockpot.  I loved it, having never had Split Pea Soup before. It was so good to me, and realizing there was much more than just peas in it, I knew my family would love it too.

So I thought I would start a new tradition - Split Pea Soup for Christmas Eve dinner!  It's GREEN, it's delicious - how much fun that would be?  My kids were about 9, 7, and 3 years of age.  They would probably tell you I DAMAGED THEM FOR LIFE.   What were you thinking, Mom???  I was just looking for something fun and different (and easy with all the other Christmas goings on).  So my awesome new tradition was BUSTED.  

So anyway, I will make this one again!  This soup was relatively easy to make and doesn't involve a ham bone.  You just brown the ham and use it as a condiment with this recipe.  The split peas (btw, I didn't attempt to find yellow ones) were cooked in about an hour.  If the thought of Pea soup turns you off, you should really try this!  You might be surprised how good it is!  The onion and chicken broth give it a delicious flavor, and the texture is more like potato soup.  I served it with cornbread.