by Sarah Ganly
I never tried split pea soup as a kid; actually I thought it looked like puke, and I was pretty sure it probably tasted like snot. I never even considered trying it until one day when I was at a friend's house and his mother offered it to me. It still looked gross, but his mom was so nice that I couldn't say no. I put the first spoon to my mouth with a cautious thought, and swallowed it quickly, but to my surprise I discovered that split pea soup is awesome especially with the little pieces of ham in it. I have loved split pea soup since then, and I have developed my own personal not so split pea soup recipe that I think all of those out there who are cautious when it comes to this soup should try.
The ingredients you will need are simple; you will need a can of peas, a tomato, between a fourth of a cup and an eighth of a cup of cheese (depending on how cheesy you want it to be) ,a sixth of a cup of milk, and a tablespoon of butter.
Chop the tomato into cubes and set them aside. Heat the milk and butter on a low temperature. After the butter has melted, slowly add the cheese. Remember to constantly stir the concoction until the cheese melts completely and the mixture becomes a cheesy sauce. Next stir the peas in, and cook until the entire mixture is heated. When the entire mixture is evenly heated, remove from heat, and stir the chopped up tomato into the pea soup. The soup is now ready to serve.
For those of you who like meat, or just specifically like the little pieces of ham in pea soup don't worry I love them too! If you want to add meat a cheap way of doing it is by buying the ham ends from your local supermarket; this is usually much cheaper, and the meat is thicker which is perfect for this meal. If you can not get ham ends you can use left over pieces of a cooked ham, or you can use sliced ham. No matter what ham you have cut it into cubes, add it in the beginning of the recipe. It is best to add the ham when you are heating the milk and butter to get it thoroughly heated and to add flavor to the mixture.
This recipe can be served as a soup, a side dish, or an entrée, but no matter how you serve it this not so split pea soup is excellent!
