Split Pea Soup with Ham Hock

Split Pea Soup with Ham Hock

Ingredients: 

• 16 oz bag of dried split peas
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove or more if you like more garlic, use 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 8 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 2 large carrots - chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 ham hock

Directions:

Wash peas and drain them. In a pot, saute onions and garlic in about 2 tsp of oil.

Add peas, carrots, ham hock and your chicken stock, then cover the pot and let it come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once it boils you can reduce heat and cook for about two hours (beans should be very soft by then). Make sure to check the water and consistency. You may need to add hot water if it becomes too thick.

Remove ham hock and serve or spoon part of soup into blender to make for a thicker soup.  (I typically blend 1/2 - 3/4 of teh soup b/c we like it thick)


* This soup freezes very well.

Chili

Chili is one of my favorite things to make in the fall and winter.  I usually make a huge batch (doubling or tripling the recipe) so that we have a freezer full and can eat it any time.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 green pepper finely chopped
2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
4 cloves garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp crushed basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika

Directions:

Brown the ground beef, drain fat, and then transfer to pot. 
Heat olive oil and cook onion, pepper, and garlic until tender then transfer to pot. 
Stir in remaining ingredients and cook on medium -low heat for at least 1 hour.  I like to let it simmer for hours because it will thicken up and become more flavorful. I tend to cook it on low for 2-3 hours.  Or cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
 

* I recently discovered frozen chopped onion and frozen chopped green pepper.  Makes making chili SO easy and quick.  I really dislike chopping onions, I usually make Paul do it, so my frozen onion discovery has made cooking even more enjoyable.  They seem to work fine in things like soup, meatloaf, etc.

recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden