Vegetarian Crock Pot Split Pea Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 (16 ounce) bag dried split peas, rinsed and cleaned
water (see below)
1 cup regular uncooked long grain rice
1/4 cup reduced fat margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat fry pan and add oil, then onion, garlic, celery, and carrots.
Saute vegetables until soft.
Add sauteed vegetables to 6-quart crock pot.
Then add split peas and enough water to half full capacity.
Cover and cook on high for four hours until peas are tender.
Stir in rice and recover. Cook rice for another two hours until rice is tender. Add additional water if necessary to keep it at about half full capacity.
Before serving, add pepper and margarine and stir until melted.