split pea soup

• 1 pound dried split peas
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 8oz ham stock
• 32oz ham stock
• 1 cup cooked ham, cubed
• dried oregano
• fresh or dried parsley
• bay leaves
• adobo

Either soak peas in water overnight or boil for 10 minutes. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker (or crock pot for those of you that are cool with disrespecting intellectual property) and cook on low for 8 hours. Leftover ham on the bone works the best here, but I didn't have any so I went ghetto and chopped up a ham steak. Garnish with some nice croutons.

The dish: I think every kid is predisposed to liking pea soup because it gets a shout out from Yukon Cornelius in the Rudolph movie. Which is odd, because even as an adult, it's really not too attractive to look at. This is the first time I've tried it with the ham stock and it added a nice flavor, but it's just as good without.