Split Pea Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 pound (1 cup) dried split peas
3 quarts water
1 ham bone or 2 ham hocks (trimmed)
2 bay leaves
4 green onions, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot chopped
2 large potatoes, pared and cut
2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Preparation

Soak peas overnight, drain.
Place ham and peas in large pot; bring to boil.
Skim if necessary.
Add other ingredients and simmer for 3 hours.
Remove ham, bones, and bay leaves.
Pour soup into blender and process until smooth.
Dice ham and return to soup.
If too thick, add canned chicken broth.
Serve hot with croutons.