Today was another busy day and between school, a visit to the orthodontist, homework, choir practice and confirmation we somehow had to fit in dinner without being able to spend any time in the kitchen. So, I made one of my husband's and older daughter's perennial quickie favorites: pea soup.
I've tried many recipes for pea soup during my married life, adding onions (makes everyone too gassy) or carrots (makes the soup too sweet for my husband), potatoes (to thicken the soup without using flour) and various spices. I honestly do not recall all the different ways we've prepared the soup. What all the experiments boil down to is this: We keep coming back to the same simple recipe that everyone likes best. It can literally be put together in 2 minutes or less. No kidding. If you have a slow-cooker, you can cook my husband's favorite pea soup. It's so simple, a toddler could cook it!
Dan's Favorite Pea Soup
Ingredients:
1-2 smoked ham shanks (sometimes I use 2 smoked pork chops because they're leaner)
2 cups of rinsed green split peas
6-7 cups water
Preparation:
Put everything in a slow-cooker and cook on low all day, or 8-10 hours. Remove ham shanks from soup. Remove all visible fat from the ham shanks and cut meat into small pieces. Mash the peas with a potato masher if you like texture or puree with a blender if you like soup smooth. Add meat and serve.
If the soup is made ahead of time, it can be refrigerated and defatted before serving. It can also be spiffed up by serving it with a nice loaf of crusty bread, a dark rye being my favorite.
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