Food Friday: Split Pea Sausage Soup!

Looking for some hearty, warm soup for your Christmas guests tonight? My family has really enjoyed this Split Peas Sausage Soup recipe on several occasions. Mix in some oyster crackers for your toddler to enjoy this green-looking stuff and add a side of cornbread to fill up your husband.

This Split Pea Sausage recipe is just the right combination of a hearty, nutritious-filled, smoke-flavored meal that is seasonally inviting on a cold, Christmas day.

On top of that, a bag of split peas is very economical to feed a large family. I usually buy a dried bag of split peas for under $0.99. The night before, I will sort through the bag of split peas looking for discolored and soiled peas or rocks that may have slipped in the bag. Afterwards, I run water over them washing them in a colander before finally letting them soak overnight in a bowl filled with water. More specifically, I will keep them in the colander and drop it down in the bowl of water to soak.

The next morning, I will chop up some celery and carrots in my food processor while cooking some smoked link sausage (fresh from our local Italian meat market) on the stove. I drop the vegetables and slivered sausage along with my soaked peas and six cups of fresh water into the crock-pot to cook all day on high. I add some onion salt, ground pepper, a little celery salt, dried parsley, and bay leaves (to remove later). Occasionally stirring throughout the day, I finally know it is done when the peas cook down turning the liquid a into green mixture just in time for supper that evening.

Split Pea Sausage Soup!

1 pound smoked kielbasa
1 pound dried split peas
6 cups of water
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup celery
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon course black pepper
2 bay leaves

Cut the sausage in half lengthwise, cutting into approximately 1/4 inch pieces. Place in crock pot; add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, covering and simmer until peas are tender (approximately six hours). Remove bay leaves. Yields 8 servings (2 quarts). Serve with peanut butter sandwiches, corn bread, cheese slices, and oyster crackers.