Of all the foods I love, I have never taken a liking to ham. That's why when my mother mentioned she wanted to make a ham for Christmas this year, I wasn't overly excited.

Well, my palate must be changing because the ham turned out delicious with some stone ground mustard, and I could not get enough of the split pea soup she made using the leftover ham bone!

This soup needs no salt added, since the ham provides a high salt content, and with some croutons and fresh cracked black pepper as garnish, this soup is the perfect winter meal in itself.

You will need 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium yellow onion chopped, 1 1/4 cups chopped celery (3 ribs), 1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove), 4 cups unsalted chicken broth, 4 cups water, 1 (16 oz) dried bag split peas, 2 bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried, 1 1/2 lb meaty ham bone, and 1 cup chopped carrots. I love a toasty baguette, and fresh cracked black pepper for garnish.

To make in the crockpot, reduce water to 2 cups, add all ingredients, and cook on low about 7-8 hours. Remove ham and shred or dice into pieces and then return to soup.

My mother made this in her instant pot and pressed the “saute” setting. She added her oil, celery and onion and sauteed for 3 minutes, then added in the garlic and sautéed for a minute longer.

Press cancel, then pour in 4 cups broth, 2 cups water, split peas, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, and set to 15 minutes. Then shred ham into pieces and return to soup.

If you are making this in a dutch oven like I will be, heat your oil over medium high and add onion, celery, and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Pour in the full 4 cups water and 4 cups broth. Add split peas, bay leaves, and thyme. Nestle the bone in and bring the soup to a boil then reduce to low.

Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally until peas and ham are tender (about an hour and a half). Remove ham from soup, then dice up meat. Add carrots to your soup and cover while stirring occasionally, until peas have mostly broken down (about 30 minutes). Stir ham into soup. If this wasn't thick enough for you, simmer uncovered for the last 30 minutes.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year!