Shaker Split Pea Soup

Since nearly everyone is watching their finances and budget, a good way to save a little money each week is to eat soup for a meal. I love soup. It can be very healthy and low-calorie, but the warmth fills me up. Joe usually needs a little something else, so he ate a pulled pork sandwich alongside this.

Two Sundays ago, as Joe and I were leaving church, a guy asked us if we wanted some fresh rosemary. Of course, I jumped at the chance, and when he opened his trunk, there was a huge rosemary bush. He was some kind of landscaper, and one of his client's rosemary bushes had gotten out of control. So even though this recipe didn't call for it, I added some rosemary. I also served it with some toasted rosemary bread I had made.

Shaker Split Pea Soup
Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 5 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups green split peas
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried savory (I just added another 1/4 tsp thyme.)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Thyme sprigs (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add 5 cups water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add peas, dried thyme, savory, and pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 20 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. (I blended about half of it in the blender.) Stir in salt. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 8 1/2 cup servings

Calories: 149 (8% from fat)

Fat: 1.3g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.3g)

Protein: 10.2g

Carbohydrate: 25.3g

Fiber: 10g

Cholesterol: 2mg

Iron: 1.8mg

Sodium: 294mg

Calcium: 32mg