Leftover Christmas Ham, Day 4: Split Pea Soup

Although the main reason I made a 12-pound Christmas Ham for just Bryan and me was because we wanted plenty of leftover ham, another reason was because I had big plans for the bone.

It's always hard to just choose one recipe to use the ham bone in, but every year Split Pea Soup seems to win the toss-up. Maybe it's just one of those recipes I forget about the rest of the year because it's so dang easy to make.

The only recipe I've ever used is one I got from Heather eons ago that uses cubed ham and bouillon cubes instead of a ham bone. But since I used the bone, I used 2 instead of 6 bouillon cubes, and it still was a bit on the unsalty side for those who prefer a sodium bomb.

Heather's Split Pea Soup
1 c. onion, chopped
3/4 c. celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. split peas
8 c. water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 t. pepper
2 bay leaves
2 c. chopped ham
3-4 medium peeled carrots
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Easy!