Split Pea Soup

And just to mix up the first day of posting, here is a recipe from About.com Southern Food that I have successfully made more than once (no photos though.)

Split Pea Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
• 1 meaty hambone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 1/2 qts. hot water

Preparation:

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired. Serve garnished with croutons. Freezes well.
Serves 8.

Despite feeling intimidated by this soup, it was relatively simple, especially since I almost never peel my vegetables (I don't see the point) and I use my stick blender to chop vegetables for anything I make in the slow cooker. I stole some tips I saw on Michael Smith's Chef at Home and added a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a cup of frozen peas at the end to brighten the flavour and add some freshness. This ended up being a REALLY thick soup, but could probably be thinned by adding water with the frozen peas.