Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

I’ve been on a soup kick lately with the quest to keep things as simple as possible. What can be simpler than throwing ingredients into a slow cooker and letting the food do its thing? I recently had some leftover ham to use up. I thought making a big batch of split pea soup would do the trick. While I didn’t write it in the recipe, I also allowed the ham bone to cook in the soup for awhile to make sure none of the delicious ham flavor would go to waste.

The beauty about making soups in the slow cooker, or crock pot, is the ability to set it and forget it. In this case, I made the soup the night before and then packaged it into individual plastic containers for lunches. Plus, it freezes well. Tear off a chunk of crusty bread and you will have a hearty mid-day meal.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
1 (16 oz) bag dry peas
1 ½ cup ham, medium diced
1 cup carrot, small diced
1 Tbl. garlic, minced
6 – 7 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

Measure 1 cup of peas and set aside. Pour the remaining ingredients in a slow cooker (crock pot) and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Add the cup of peas, stir and cook for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour until desired tenderness is reached. You might need to add water near the end of cooking to thin the soup. This depends on how much liquid is absorbed. Salt and pepper to tastes. Serves 6 – 8 people.

Authors Note: Be careful when seasoning this soup. The ham can be pretty salty, so be sure to taste before adding more. Also, I like to top my split pea soup with croutons to add a little crunch.

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