Soup of the Month--December

Yes, yes, I'm two weeks late on this but better late than never.  The soup for December was Split Pea and Ham soup.  I've never made this before so I got the recipe from the Whole Foods website:

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

1 (16 oz, package dried green split peas, rinsed
1 meaty ham bone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham (I had frozen leftover ham from Christmas so I used that.)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh parsley (I used 1 Tablespoon dried parsley>)
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth or stock

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given, adding broth last.  Do not stir ingredients.  Cover and cook on high  4- 5 hours or on low 8--10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off the bone.

I served this with hot buttered cornbread and it was scrumptious.