Peas Porridge Hot, Peas Porridge Cold...

....well, not really because--did you know this?--porridge has to have meal or a cereal-usually oatmeal, that is boiled in milk or water to be a porridge.

Instead, we are making pea soup. Don't roll your eyes. Made properly (read: the way I tell you to) it's the cure to a cold day and a simple answer for dinner on a budget.

I also love that I can put it into the crock pot and it just gets better and better.

You will need:
1 pound dried split green peas
1 small onion, finely diced
3-5 carrots, peeled and diced to a quarter inch
6 cups of chicken broth or 6 cups of water and 6 bullion cubes
2+ cups of ham, sausage, or kielbasa (whatever you've got around), chopped
garlic, salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute your meat to give it a little caramelization (brown stuff) and to allow some of the fat to release. Remove from the skillet to the soup pot, where the broth or water and bullion is coming up in temperature.

In the same skillet, saute your onion, carrots and garlic (if you are using fresh). This will not only soften the veggies a little but will also coat them in some yummy fat. (mmmmmm fat). Add to the broth and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the bag of peas and cover, turning up the heat.

If you are cooking stovetop, bring it all to a boil, then drop the heat so the mixture simmers.

The picture on the left is what your soup starts out as. The peas are still hard, as are the carrots and there is a lot of broth.

The picture on the right is about 4 hours later (on a high heat). The peas have rehydrated and softened. At this point, I turn off the heat completely for about a half hour. Then I stir it really well and the peas are no longer peas,  but more of a puree.

see the crackers? yep-oatmeal, parmesan and parsley