Pea Soup

Did you have ham leftovers from the holidays? Did you freeze any of it? Well, if you did, and you know, even if you didn't and just bought some, I found a pretty darn good pea soup recipe. I love pea soup, even though I rarely eat it. This is mostly due to me not understanding how to make good soup. Good soup takes time- lots of simmering time. And I'm not too patient
... But in recent weeks, I've discovered the slow cooker and it's great ability to toss food into it and not keep an eye on it for hours and in the end, end up with some really good food. Soups are perfect for the slow cooker- you get that long simmer, without having to check up on your stove.

So here it is: Pea Soup

Recipe adapted from All Recipes
2 cups split dried peas
2 cups cut up ham
1 diced carrot
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 1/2 cups water
1 cup milk

Instructions
1. Toss first 9 ingredients into a slow cooker (in order and do not stir).
2. Cook on low for 7-8 hours
3. Add in warm milk at the end, just before getting ready to eat the soup

Note: I added an extra half cup of water from the recipe found on All Recipes because many comments made mention the soup was too thick. I freaked out at the end noticing my soup looked a little too soupy and thin. But I soon realized when adding in the milk, you get that nice creamy pea soup you're looking for. You can also modify the recipe and not at in the milk and it's still really darn good soup.

Top the soup with green onion, bacon, cheese and you have yourself a fancy meal!