TASTY THURSDAY!

Seeing how we're in for a pretty cool weekend in most parts of the country I thought I'd share with you a very yummy PEA & HAM SOUP recipe for your slow cooker. Perfect to pop on in the morning then curl up on the couch with the family & have a movie day or go outside to catch a bit of winter sun!

It's funny that I should be showcasing this as my first TASTY THURSDAY recipe as I have never been a fan of this soup, I don't like peas & the sight of green soup is just so unappealing to me. That was until a few weeks ago while staying with my sister. She cooked this up & I thought I would at least give it a taste. I took a taste from a spoon & that was it I love it! So I hope you love it too.

First up is the ingredients lineup

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped (you'll notice there aren't any of these in my pic, that's because hubby doesn't like it & we're trying it without this time around)

3.5 ltrs chicken stock (this is an approx. amount as it will depend on how much liquid your cooker will take, I have a Kenwood 6ltr but once all the other ingredients are in I can only fit in about 2.7 ltrs)
500g split peas, soaked overnight & rinsed well (I used the no soaking required peas but I still soaked them overnight as I think it helps them break down completely during cooking)

1 bacon hock

bacon bones & cracked pepper (optional)

Now throw all of the above together in your slow cooker & cook on low all day. I put mine on at 8.10 am & we will eat around 6 - 6.30 pm tonight. Check the soup early afternoon, remove the hock, peel off the skin & the meat should just fall off. I then ripped the meat apart & threw it back in the cooker. You can put the skin back in too if you want to get the extra flavour from it, just removed it before serving.

Now serve with some yummy crusty bread & enjoy!