Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

I don't know about you, but as soon as I'm in the vicinity of a bone-in ham, I'm negotiating for that lovely, meaty ham bone to make stock.  In my world, ham stock is like gold, considering you have to buy a pricey ham to get it.  I turned my first litre of this year's Christmas ham stock into split pea soup, and I have no regrets.  In the absence of ham stock, a couple of smoked ham hocks will do the trick for a successful pea soup.

I love this recipe from Southern Food about.com  It's no-fuss, no-muss, and delicious every time.  (mom_of_4 comments in italics)

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup Recipe

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed  (a 450g package)
• 1 meaty hambone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham  ( I have used 4c ham stock + 2c water instead, but have made it before with ham hocks.  In my crock pot I can turn a meaty hambone into 3L of stock - it gets more mileage that way.)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 1/2 qts. hot water (see comment about about using ham stock)

Preparation:

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours (it has a better mushier texture around 10 hrs) until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired. Serve garnished with croutons. Freezes well. (save some cooked ham to cut up and add to the soup if you have used ham stock instead of ham hocks)
Serves 8.