Split Pea Soup

Maybe not the most dietetic thing in the world, and now I'm actually going to visit Fitday to do a calorie count, but this is what I made today in the good old reliable crock pot. It's the recipe my Grandmother always made, in the days before crock pots. The whole house smells wonderful all day, and then getting to eat it is like a small slice of heaven to me.

She was my mother's mother, and she lived with us when I was a kid. We had a mother-daughter house and I could go and visit Grandma anytime I wanted just by opening a door into her attached apartment. The woman was a FANTASTIC cook. She was one of those old-fashioned ladies that made everything from scratch, used real butter and real buttermilk (she used to drink it - said it gave her glossy hair), and could just pouf up a delicious meal off the top of her head. She lived through the Great Depression, so she knew how to make a meal that could last for a week, and she really knew what to do with leftovers. She was amazing.

God, I miss her. I don't think I appreciated her when she was alive, and I regret that. She was a wonderful lady.

Her recipe also yields a heck of a lot of soup. I just filled up three huge Tupperware containers of it, and put two in the freezer. I know there is no way I'm getting The Daughter to eat anything green, and husband took one look at it and the fact that it had ham hocks in it for flavor and said, "You're not going to make me eat that, are you?" Nope.

MORE FOR ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....they don't know what they are missing.

I'm posting the recipe here in case anyone wants to try it. I just looked it up on Fitday, and the entire thing is hefty in calories and carbs - divided by the number of cups it yields, though - it's really not bad at all.
I'm going to say this recipe yields around 15 servings.

Per serving: 254 calories, 5 grams of fat, 33 grams carbs, 19.5g protein. Calorie and fat-wise, not too shabby --- except the carb count is what's killing me. Figures, because I love it.

Anyway:

2 ham hocks
2 small bags of split peas
5 whole cloves
4 cans of low sodium chicken broth
1 large whole white onion, finely diced
5-6 large carrots, also finely diced

Pre-soak the split peas by bringing them to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, then turning off the heat and leaving them in the pot with the water, covered, for 2 hours. Drain.

In a crock pot combine everything, adding the soaked peas to the other ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours. (If you want a thicker soup, use slightly less chicken broth).

Remove the ham hocks and discard. Remove the cloves and discard. Take the remaining soup and puree in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with home made croutons, if desired.

Mine made so much I am set for lunches for the next month.

Until next time... who knows what I'm making tomorrow night, since it's a work day/packing day... and we find out about our mortgage commitment tomorrow as well.
Fingers crossed... enjoy your food!