No Soup For You!

Okay, sorry for the bad Seinfeld reference! ;)  I didn't even really watch the show, but for some reason that quote seemed to be oh-so-popular and made me think of it while coming up with a name for this.  I don't know about y'all, but I love a good soup.  My mom didn't really make too  many soups as a kid, but Split Pea Soup always seemed to be made any time we had ham.  This by far is THE MOST delicious split pea soup I have ever tasted.  Waaaay better than anything you can buy in a can! So I wanted to share the recipe so that more people can enjoy it.  Plus with Easter and that coming up(if y'all celebrate it) usually there are things like ham served on the table, or at least you can buy one at such a reasonable price when holiday's do come up!  This is excellent for leftovers!!

 

What You Will Need:

Ham(take as much meat as you can off the bone, but do NOT throw the bone away)

Split peas(usually found by the beans in your grocery store)

Onion
5-6 Potatoes(depending upon size and preference)

Bay leaf

Water

(not picture is the ham) 

What You Will Do:

First you will want to chop up the ham into bite size pieces.  And like I said before, get as much off the bone as you can. 

 

 

Then you will want to chop up the onion.

 

Cut up the potatoes into smaller cubes.

 

The split peas do need to be rinsed first and remove any "bad" looking peas.  The best way to rinse them is with a strainer.  A collander has holes that these little peas like to fall out of(trust me I made the mistake before).  Then add all the ingredients into a large enough pot to hold them all.  Add enough water to completely cover all the ingredients.  Throw in your bay leaf and turn the heat on the stove to medium.  Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and let it sit there until it has reached a thicker consistency.  If it still seems watery after about 3 hours, then you may want to add a little corn starch to thicken it up.

 

And that is it!  I promise you will not be disappointed!